Stormdancer
by The Thousand Years Queen
Summary: To know Niklaus Mikaelson is to know Aliyah. It took everything she had to walk away from him. But she had no choice; she didn't want to hate him after loving him for a thousand years. But Niklaus always intended to take back what was his, and that was Aliyah. She may run and she may hide, but he would find her. Will she be strong enough to walk away again? Klaus/OC. Post 1X14 AU.
1. Homeward Bound

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Vampire Diaries in any shape or form. But I do own my OC._

_**Title: **_Stormdancer

_**Author: **_The Thousand Years Queen

_**Pairings: **_Klaus/OC.

_**Summary: **_To know Niklaus Mikaelson is to know Aliyah. It took everything she had to walk away from him. But she had no choice; she didn't want to hate him after loving him for a thousand years. But Niklaus always intended to take back what belonged to him, and that was her. She may run and she may hide, but he would find her. While fulfilling a promise she made a thousand years ago, she becomes involved in what she had run away from. Will she be strong enough to walk away again? Klaus/OC. Post 1X14 AU.

_**A/N**__: Okay, so, I thought I'd try my hand at writing a Vampire Diaries fanfiction. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy! This chapter doesn't have Klaus in it, except in flashbacks._

_This will start in 1X14 Fool Me Once, right after Sheila Bennett's death._

**Stormdancer**

**Chapter One**

**Homeward Bound**

_She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and brought him into her chest, allowing him to rest his head on her collarbone. She reached down with one hand and tore a piece off the end of her dress, dipping the torn piece of cloth into a small bowl of water and then pressing it against his bloody lip, as gently as she possibly could._

"_Does it still hurt?" She asked, worriedly._

_He shook his head, defiantly, helping her press the cloth against his wound, preventing the blood form dripping down his shirt._

"_You can go now, I'll be fine." He growled, averting his eyes from hers._

_She glared at him, fiercely. "Do not treat me like a child. I mean to tend to your wounds and you will not stop me."_

_He sighed. She dipped the cloth into the water again and wrung out the residual water. She tugged on the hem of his shirt and pushed it up, revealing a well-defined stomach covered in a myriad of bruises of yellow and blue. She pressed the cool, damp cloth against each one of his bruises, hoping that she would attribute to a modicum of his relief._

_He twisted the curls at the end of her hair and she looked up at him. His hand entwined itself in her jet black locks and tugged her up to meet him, his lips slanting over hers, gently, mindful of the sharp pain of his split lip._

She had been nursing a glass of scotch in one hand and flipping the pages of a novel in the other, when she received the call. She grabbed the phone, which was seated on the desk, reading the number and rolling her eyes, and pressed a button, raising it to her ear to talk.

"What is it?" She asked, impatiently.

"Sheila Bennett is dead."

"What?" Aliyah snapped, falling back into her chair in her shock. "How is that even possible?"

"The hospital is saying over-exertion, and her heart just finally gave out." The man on the other end of the phone said.

"Well, that definitely screws everything up, doesn't it?" She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Sheila has a granddaughter, doesn't she?"

"Yes, Bonnie Bennett."

Aliyah smiled. "It looks like I'm going home."

* * *

><p>It was raining on the day of the funeral. Her black dress was tight around her thighs as she stepped onto the grass. There weren't many people, but she could see many of them surrounding a young girl of around sixteen, who was noticeably trembling. Aliyah ran her hand through her long dark curls.<p>

She joined the back of the crowd, resolving not to try and speak to Bonnie until after everyone had left. She had no intention of putting herself through awkward questions from people she didn't care about. She sat through the funeral, listening into all of the different speeches about how strong-willed and kind and loving Sheila Bennett was. She smiled at some of the jokes and even laughed a few times.

Sheila Bennett. She remembered meeting the woman many years ago. Trying to explain that she meant her no harm and that she was simply there for guidance. It had been a difficult task and Sheila had never completely warmed up to her. She had accepted the fact that Aliyah would protect her, but they had never became actual friends. The divide between vampires and witches had destroyed any possible relationship she and Sheila may have been developed. She wondered whether she would be able to breach that divide with Bonnie, but she didn't have much hope for that. Witches were steadfast in their beliefs and even more so in their hatred for vampires.

It was an hour and a half before the service ended and Aliyah stood up alongside everyone when the time came to bury the body. Aliyah had no wish to see Sheila's corpse, but she went through the motions, grabbing a handful of dirt and dropping it over the casket, ignoring the confused whispers from behind her.

_I'm sorry I wasn't there, Sheila. But I will protect your granddaughter, I promise. She is the last of my mother's line and she will have my protection and guidance, I swear._

Aliyah made her way to the back of the congregation and waited as every one expressed their condolences to a grieving Bonnie. As she moved closer, she stilled, noticing a certain person standing next to Bonnie, holding onto her hand as she offered comfort.

_Tatia._

_Katerina._

_That isn't possible._

_Well, fuck, I think I've just wandered into something bigger than I realised._

The girl had long, straight brown hair and pale skin, wide brown eyes. All exceptional features, but the only thing that drew Aliyah's gaze was the remarkable resemblance to two women who had already caused enough problems for Aliyah that she was intent on keeping her distance. Instead, she looked at the girl in the centre. Darker skin, brown curly hair, her eyes drawn and weary, tear tracks still on her face.

_Now, this must be Bonnie._

* * *

><p>It was still awhile before the two girls at Bonnie's side were willing to let her be alone, in fact the doppelganger looked very reluctant to leave Bonnie. Finally, they departed and Aliyah made her way to the gravestone, where Bonnie was standing.<p>

"She truly was an amazing woman." Aliyah commented.

Bonnie spun around and stared at her, suspiciously. "Who are you?" She asked, sharply.

The woman was not too tall, just slightly taller than her. She had dark skin, not as dark as Bonnie's, but bronzer than usual. Her hair came in soft, thick curls down to the middle of her back, and her eyes were a dark chocolate brown, her lips pink against her toffee-coloured skin. She smiled, and the brightness of it made her seem younger than she really was.

Aliyah held her hands up in the 'surrender' position. "I'm not going to hurt you, Bonnie. I just wanted to be here for your grandmother's wake and I wanted to see you."

"Who are you?" Bonnie repeated, through gritted teeth, her eyes red.

Aliyah smiled. "My name is Aliyah Mikaelson and I'm here to help you."

"How can you possibly help me?" Bonnie scoffed.

"Well, I know you're a witch and I think you could benefit from my guidance." Aliyah shrugged.

Bonnie frowned. "Are you a witch?"

Aliyah grimaced. "Not really. Not anymore, at least."

"What do you mean?" Bonnie asked.

Aliyah sighed. She reached out and grasped Bonnie's hand. She bit her lip and watched as Bonnie flinched away, her eyebrows drawing into a thin line.

"You're a vampire." She snarled.

Aliyah nodded, hesitantly. "I am a vampire. But, I give you my word, Bonnie, that I will not hurt you. I have no intention of hurting you. The only reason I came to Mystic Falls was to meet you and pay my respects to your grandmother." She motioned out of the cemetery. "Can we walk?"

They moved out of the cemetery and down the road. Aliyah stopped at her car and looked at Bonnie.

"I could give you a lift to your house if you'd like. And we can talk." Aliyah said.

Bonnie looked nervous for a second.

Aliyah narrowed her eyes. "I don't break my word, darling." She smiled. "It would be awful if I did. I promise you, no harm will come to you at my hands."

Bonnie pursed her lips. "Okay, but if you try anything…" She began, warningly.

"Oh, I'm sure you could think of some awful spell to cast upon me." Aliyah grinned. She opened the passenger side of her car. "Now, get in."

* * *

><p>"So, you're a vampire. Why do you want to protect me?" Bonnie asked, confused.<p>

Aliyah and Bonnie were sitting on the swing in the porch.

"You know that a witch can't be a vampire, right? If a witch is turned into a vampire, he or she loses their powers." Aliyah explained. She inhaled. "Years ago, when I was human, I was a powerful witch. I was still in the middle of my training, but my innate power was very great. Anyways, I was turned into a vampire and I lost my powers, unfortunately. It was very hard for me to transition into being a vampire. My connection to the Earth was lost and I felt empty inside without the use of my magic." She bit her lip.

"Um, I still don't get why you're telling me this." Bonnie remarked, confused.

"My mother was a very powerful witch. She only had two children, my older brother and myself. My older brother was married years before me and he had children. You are descended from my mother through my brother's children." Aliyah said, quickly.

"So… we're related?" Bonnie stared at her.

"Yes, you are a direct descendent of my mother, Ayanna." Aliyah nodded. "When I became a vampire, my mother refused to speak to me, the unnaturalness of my vampirism being too much for her to accept. However, I was still her daughter and a part of her couldn't turn me away. So, we came to an agreement. She would protect me from any witch that would try and harm me, and in return, I would protect her line – my line, with my new abilities."

Bonnie nodded to herself. "So, that's why you're here. Because I'm your descendent." She narrowed her eyes. "But… my Grams… if you're supposed to protect my family… why did you…."

Aliyah looked away. "I know. It was my mistake. I believed that your grandmother would be safe. There was nothing in Mystic Falls for her to fear, I made sure years ago, and she was a powerful witch. She died of natural causes, there was no harm to protect her from."

Bonnie's brow furrowed. "She didn't die of natural causes."

Aliyah's eyes snapped to Bonnie's. She stood up. "What do you mean?" She asked, carefully.

"My Grams… she died trying to perform a spell. To release the vampires in the tomb underneath Fell's Church." Bonnie explained.

Aliyah frowned. "There were vampires trapped under Fell's Church? Why was your grandmother trying to break the spell? From what I can remember, she didn't exactly have a good opinion of vampires. She wouldn't have helped them get out of the tomb, she would have done her best to keep them inside."

Bonnie's shoulders slumped. "My friend, Elena, the brunette one with me at the funeral…"

Aliyah had the urge to roll her eyes, but forcefully stamped down on it.

_Of course, it all comes down to a Petrova doppelganger. It always does._

"She's dating this vampire, Stefan Salvatore."

Aliyah's eyes widened, remembering the Ripper from the 1920s. "Did you say Stefan Salvatore? Oh, bloody hell, what have I walked into?" She moaned. She shifted and looked at Bonnie with a searching gaze. "Tell me, what does Stefan Salvatore have to do with this tomb of vampires?"

Bonnie shook his head. "Well, it's his brother, Damon, actually."

Aliyah ran a hand through her hair. "You've got to be kidding me. Damon's here, too?"

"How do you know the Salvatore brothers?" Bonnie asked, curiously and suspiciously.

She didn't know if she trusted the vampire in front of her. She was still a vampire and it went against everything inside her to even consider trusting her. Although, she remembered Aliyah taking her hand in hers, and that same sick feeling that she got when she had touched Stefan soon after meeting him hit her. However, the feeling felt different. Almost as if she knew that the woman in front of her wouldn't hurt her. She didn't even know why the woman would want to.

Bonnie wasn't a great witch, in fact, she had barely begun learning. If she wanted to use her powers, she would have come when her Grams was still alive. And she had given her word that she wouldn't hurt her. She did say that they were related somehow and she had made a promise a long time ago that she wouldn't hurt her family. But after her Grams had died because of Stefan and Damon, she didn't know what to believe.

She would wait and listen and see what the woman was up to.

"Um, Stefan, I met right after he was turned, here in Mystic Falls. I was looking for someone and I found him right after he turned. I was the one who explained how to complete the transition. And Damon… we met in the 1930s, it was a unique experience."

Bonnie grimaced. "You and Damon…?"

Aliyah's eyes widened. "No, oh, dear, no. _That_ never happened between us and it will never happen." She sighed. "What did Damon want with the vampires in this tomb?"

"He was looking for Katherine."

Aliyah stilled. "Katherine Pierce… is here… in Mystic Falls?" She asked, slowly.

Bonnie raised an eyebrow. It was as if her doubt about this woman was just beneath the surface, waiting to rise every time the woman said something she struck her wrong. "You know everyone, don't you? How do you know everyone?"

_How could she know Damon, Stefan and Katherine, yet be here for her?_

"Well, I don't know you or Elena." Aliyah pointed out. _Although, I know of Elena._ "And when you're as old as I am, you tend to meet a lot of people. Stefan and Damon Salvatore are just two in a long line of people that I have met, and I don't know them all that well. I only knew Stefan for a couple of hours in 1864, before I left Mystic Falls. I was just there to see him through his transition. Damon… I was trying to help him control the hunger… Although, I don't suppose I did that as well as I could have. Probably should've stayed with him a bit longer." She mused, rubbing the back of her neck.

"And Katherine?" Bonnie asked, leaning back against the porch swing.

"I've known Katherine for a very long time." She smiled, wryly. "Long before she became Katherine." She muttered. She frowned. "So, Katherine was inside the tomb?"

_She wasn't in Mystic Falls when I got here in 1864. She had already escaped. She probably knew we were coming for her and made a run for it._

"No." Bonnie shook her head. "That was the point. Apparently, back in 1864, both Stefan and Damon fell in love with Katherine. Stefan realised what a manipulative bitch she was after he turned into a vampire, but Damon…"

"…still held out hope that she had _actual_ feelings for him." Aliyah finished and actually did roll her eyes that time.

_Now, that sounds like a Petrova doppelganger._

_Screwing with brothers since 1020._

"Wow," Aliyah laughed. "Katherine hasn't changed at all, has she? So, she wasn't in the tomb, but Damon thought she was. Why did your grandmother have to open the tomb? She was a witch, so are you, in fact, even if Stefan and Damon had forced you, you would've been able to stop them." She said, pointedly.

"Well…" Bonnie looked upset. The tears came to her eyes, her grandmother's death flashing through her eyes.

"Bonnie…" Aliyah sighed and took a seat next to Bonnie on the porch swing. "I know you don't trust me." Bonnie looked up at her with surprise, wondering how easily Aliyah was able to read her. "Darling, I've been around for a _very_ long time. I can read people very well. And I can understand your scepticism. Can you imagine being a witch and then turned into a vampire?" Aliyah asked, sadly. "I was a servant of nature and then I was turned into something I should have despised beyond all belief." She commented, wistfully.

"How did you… deal with it?" Bonnie asked, awkwardly.

"I didn't… not at the beginning, at least." Aliyah said, simply.

"_She hates me." She sobbed. "My own mother refuses to look me in the eye. She turned me away."_

"_She's your mother, love, she… just needs to deal with what's happened to us." He smoothed back her hair, as she cried into his stomach, lying in his lap. _

"_No," She sniffled and shook her head. "She will never forgive me for this. She cannot. And how could she? I can barely look at my own reflection without flinching. I cannot even feel the Earth anymore. How can I do this?_

"_You will because I am here. Because I will not let you fail. You are mine, my love. You know what I am like with what I consider is mine."_

"I had this… connection… with the Earth and with nature and it was all stripped away from me when I was turned into a vampire." Aliyah grimaced. "As a human, I was always fierce about my family. My mother was everything to me. She was my mother, my father, my friend and my mentor. My brother left home when I was young to be with his wife and her family. I never really knew him really well. I remember visiting them when my sister-in-law had her children, your ancestors. But I wasn't very close to them, they lived in another village. But the promise I made to my mother was real. I have always tried to protect your family, Bonnie, to the best of my ability. I assume you know about Emily?" Aliyah asked.

Emily Bennett was someone that Aliyah remembered fondly. From the few times that she had spoken to the young witch, the woman seemed somewhat accepting of vampires, from her pseudo friendship with Katherine. Although, she had her misgivings about the extent of her acceptance of vampires. It was hard for a witch, especially one experienced with her marriage, to stop hating vampires.

Bonnie blinked. "Emily Bennett? The one who put the curse on the tomb?"

Aliyah nodded. "Apparently, she was getting less than appreciative advances from one of the men in Mystic Falls. As you can probably tell, she was treated with less than kindness while she was here in Mystic Falls." Aliyah resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Because of her skin colour?" Bonnie wondered out loud.

"Yes." Aliyah nodded. "Anyway, there was a man in Mystic Falls, I'm not completely certain of his name, it may have been George something, but he was interested in Emily and, in those times, if a man was interested in a woman of colour, he usually got what he wanted. He cornered her one day, and I was the one to pull him off her. I was only in Mystic Falls for a few days back in 1864. Just long enough to meet Emily and offer my protection, and search for Katherine, but she had already left by then." She mused. "There are certain men in the world who just don't have respect for women."

"You saved Emily from being raped?" Bonnie cross her arms over her chest. "Is that why I'm supposed to believe you? I'm sorry, but I thought I could trust Stefan and he and his brother just screwed me over and my Grams _died_ for it. So, don't expect me to just believe you like that."

Aliyah raised an eyebrow. "I understand your misconceptions. I understand more than you can realise. I wouldn't trust me if I was in your position. But, all I'm asking is to give me some time to prove to you I can be trusted. I can help as much as I possibly can with your magic. I still remember quite a lot. I know you probably don't have a good opinion of vampires, Bonnie, and what you've just gone through has probably made it worse, but I have always had a healthy respect for witches."

Bonnie ran a hand through her hair and felt tears come to her eyes. "I just… I don't know what to do." She whispered, reluctantly.

"I know what that feels like." Aliyah said, grimly. "When I was turned into a vampire, it wasn't just me becoming this abnormal creature, but it was also me losing a part of my identity when I lost my powers. The man I love, he used to call me his 'little witch' when we were human. After we turned, it hurt me too much to be called that." She swallowed hard, remembering much more painful times. "Anyway, I'd really like it if you completed your story. But only if you can." She said the last name, hurriedly, as if she didn't want to offend Bonnie.

"Oh, yeah, well," Bonnie rubbed the back of her neck. "Well, we were chanting the spell that would open the tomb, but the seal that prevented vampires from coming was still up. Damon grabbed Elena and went inside the tomb. I tried to stop Stefan from going in after them, but he went anyway. I begged her to break the seal so that Stefan and Damon could get out. She seemed okay after we got home. But she said she was going to go and lie down…" Bonnie started breathing in and out, quickly, starting to hyperventilate.

Aliyah cursed under her breath and moved closer to Bonnie, placing both of her hands on Bonnie's shoulders. She shook her, slightly.

"Bonnie, I need you to focus on my voice. Block everything else out and listen to me. You're hyperventilating, and I need you to stop." Aliyah ordered, gently.

After a few moments, Bonnie's frantic breathing began to slow. "I used to feel so safe around her. My mother left me when I was a kid and my dad's never around. My Grams was always there."

Aliyah bit her lip and decided to go ahead with it. She reached out and wrapped her arms around Bonnie's shoulders, pulling the young girl into her chest. She let her sob into her chest, ignoring the growing dampness on her dress, and wondered when was the last time that the girl had been allowed to grieve her grandmother without having to hide behind masks.

"If you'd like, I could kill the Salvatore brothers for you." Aliyah offered.

Bonnie chuckled, wetly.

"No, I'm serious, say the word and I'll rip their hearts from their chests and deliver them to you." Aliyah declared, dramatically. "They messed with my descendants. For that crime alone, they should die." She growled, her eyes turning a deep red and the veins under her eyes briefly appearing before she was able to control herself.

Bonnie stared at her with awe and fear. "Wow, you are really are a vampire."

Aliyah smiled, a little sheepish that she had lost control of herself for a moment. "Yeah, did you think I was lying to you?"

"No, I just… your eyes..." Bonnie trailed off.

Aliyah touched the skin below her eyes. "Do they bother you?" She asked, curiously.

Bonnie shrugged. "They just remind me that you really are a vampire."

"I am, Bonnie. You shouldn't ever forget that." Aliyah said, seriously. "I am dangerous and I have killed before." She confessed.

Bonnie frowned and recoiled, moving a few inches away from her on the porch swing. "You have?"

"I am a vampire, darling, and when I was turned, my hunger was too much for me to handle, so I have drank from humans, and I did kill a few people when I was first starting out as a vampire."

"So, you drink from humans?" Bonnie asked, hotly.

Aliyah smiled, darkly. "There was a time when I was unconcerned from whom I drank. I have changed since then and become more… _selective_… in whose blood I drink. I don't relish the thought of killing innocent people to satisfy my bloodlust."

"So, what do you do?" Bonnie asked, quietly.

"From time to time, if I find myself in a more populated locality, I tend to raid blood banks and keep a storage of them. There isn't exactly a shortage of blood in this world, at least, not like there used to be. I never drink from anyone under the age of 21 and I try and stay away from women. With this new vampire craze that is sweeping the world, more and more women find the idea of roleplaying with a vampire enticing." Aliyah shrugged. "They're willing, so I see no need to deny them whatever kick they get out of it. Drinking blood from the vein doesn't always have to be painful, in fact, it can be quite pleasurable if done right, and I've had years to practice. But, my victims tend to be ones that asked for it."

"How could anyone ask for it?" Bonnie snapped. "You're still drinking blood from innocent people."

"I tend to go for those people who aren't innocent. Murderers, rapists, abusers, and on occasion, I have even drank the blood of vampires, before I killed them for some crime or another. Some men and women are quite hospitable. I never take more than a pint or two, I compel them to forget and I feed them my blood to heal them before I move on." Aliyah explained.

"But… you still drink blood from humans!" Bonnie snapped.

"I am a vampire." Aliyah said, pointedly. "I can probably say that a million times and you wouldn't understand. Do you feel guilty about all of the innocent animals that had to die while you eat a cheeseburger? It is in your nature to eat food, which includes meat, so you ignore the fact that dead animals led to your food. I don't kill humans for no reason. I drink blood from only those who are willing, and if they aren't willing, they deserved me to drink from them in the first place." Aliyah sighed.

"Bonnie, I could try and explain my motives to you till I was blue in the face and it wouldn't matter to you. I didn't come here to speak to you and get you to trust in vampires when you have no intention of doing so, and I don't blame you. I came here to pay my respects to your grandmother because I care about my family and you and your grandmother are my family. I also wanted to be there for you. I know what it's like to be lost and without guidance, to be faced with powers you didn't even know you had and having to adjust to them can be hard. I know it seems a bit presumptuous for me to start advising you, but I promise that you will be under my protection. I will not hurt you or your friends, although the Salvatores may bear the brunt of my anger if I have my way." She muttered the last part.

"You can't hurt Stefan." Bonnie said, quietly. "He's dating Elena. She'd be upset if something happen to him."

"I was just going to stake the two morons in the stomach. It would hurt, but they would heal and it would teach them not to use you as a personal power source. I understand that you're protective of your friend, but maybe you should start worrying about yourself instead of them right now." Aliyah said, gently. "You don't realise this and I don't want to get into too much, because the more you know, the more you will be in, but you and your friend, Elena, have walked into something much more bigger than you may have realised."

Bonnie frowned. "What do you mean?" She asked, tentatively.

Aliyah smiled and stood up, holding out her hand to Bonnie. "There are many stories I could tell you, Bonnie, and some day, I will, but not now. Now is the time to focus on you."

"My Grams was the only one to ever put me first." Bonnie confessed, reluctantly.

Aliyah nodded. "I'm not trying to take her place, but I promise that I will put you first. It's been a very long time since I've been around my family."

Aliyah smiled, sadly. _And not just this family.__  
><em>

With a small, grateful look in her eyes, Bonnie reached out and took Aliyah's hand.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN**_: I thought it would be interesting for Bonnie to form a relationship with a vampire who didn't force her to do things or use her powers for their own purposes. I've seen a lot of OCs who are Elena's twin sister, or Caroline's younger sister. I've seen Tyler's little sister and distant relatives of the Salvatores, but none of Bonnie's relatives. I thought this might be interesting, an OC who puts Bonnie first.


	2. Witch of Mystic Falls

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Vampire Diaries in any shape or form. But I do own my OC._

_**A/N**__: Okay, here's the next chapter of Stormdancer. I don't know how much of the show I intend to follow at this point. Season 1 and 2 should pretty much stay the same with the exception of some minor and major changes. The major change will probably be Bonnie's role in the story. I think she may make different choices if she had someone who honestly cared about her wellbeing, primarily, in the show. _

_This will be the chapter where Aliyah meets Stefan and Damon again and meets Elena for the first time. This story takes place after Sheila's death. In TVD, Bonnie is missing until 1X19, and in 1X19, I think Elena mentioned that Bonnie was with her aunt after the funeral. Instead, Bonnie spends that time with Aliyah. _

_**Reviews**__:_

_GraceConnorReese_: Thank you so much! I'm so glad you liked it!

_Skyeward MusicLover_: Thank you so much!

_lovetolongago_: Your question should pretty much be answered in this chapter, whether Aliyah is an Original vampire or not. The next few chapters will be more original, because Bonnie was missing from about five episodes in Season 1 after Sheila's death. So the next couple of chapters will focus on Aliyah helping Bonnie with her magic, especially with that delightful aneurism spell, and working her way through Mystic Falls in the meantime. I'm trying to have Aliyah keep to herself and keep everything close to her chest, because she's a very cautious person, therefore, it is likely that the show will be mirrored closely, mainly because Aliyah's such a careful manipulator of events. The big changes won't really happen in this season, but in Season 2.

NicoleR85: Thank you so much! I don't think she'll take much crap from any of them. She's a Mikaelson and those Mikaelsons have their pride. Not to mention, she's not really a fan of Petrova doppelgangers, although her relationship with Katherine may be interesting. And, yeah, she won't fall in love with either Stefan or Damon, so she'll pretty much rag on them every chance she gets.

**Stormdancer**

**Chapter 2**

**Witch of Mystic Falls**

"So, I have a question for you, Bonnie." Aliyah said, as they sat down on the couch.

It had been a few days since Bonnie's grandmother's death and the funeral, where Bonnie had met Aliyah for the first time. Bonnie still hadn't invited Aliyah into her house, but Aliyah had instead invited Bonnie to the small, yet expensive apartment that some of her men had rented for her before she had arrived in Mystic Falls. Aliyah had listened in on a conversation between Bonnie and her father and was stunned to find that her father had business in London, but decided to stick with his airline reservations for next month, in order to save money. She had shaken her head, thinking that Bonnie, in Sheila, had lost the one person that had actually treated her like a teenage girl that required love and affection and guidance.

Bonnie shifted in her seat to look at Aliyah. She had spent the last few days fighting against every instinct in her to not trust the vampire in front of her, but Aliyah herself had spent the last few days walking on eggshells around her. She had cooked for her and told her stories. She had smiled and laughed and kept her distance from her, knowing that Bonnie still felt uneasy around her. She had asked her about her life, and her friends, about her grandmother, and Aliyah had managed to keep her from the grief that threatened to overwhelm her at any moment. She had the niggling thought that maybe Aliyah was as alone as Bonnie felt. Maybe they both needed each other.

"Sure, what is it?" Bonnie asked with a small smile.

"Your father…" Aliyah began, hesitantly. "You don't seem all that bothered by his absence."

Bonnie shrugged. "It's not that I'm not bothered, it's just I can't do anything about it." She said, mournfully.

"He should be here for you." Aliyah said, bluntly.

Bonnie felt her hackles rising, but forced herself to keep her mouth shut. She smiled, weakly. "It's okay, really." She paused. "Hey, how do you walk in the sunlight?"

Aliyah held out her hand, showing a beautiful gold ring on her index finger, a shining lapis lazuli stone set in an open filigree design, diamonds bordering the four corners of the stone. It was accompanied by a thick silver band on her middle finger, symbols inscribed on it in a language that Bonnie didn't understand, and an emerald ring on her ring finger. On her other hand, she could see two braided gold bands on her other ring finger.

"My daylight ring. I had a witch enchant for me in the 1700s, back in New Orleans." She smiled to herself. "It wasn't my original one."

She pulled out a silver chain that hung around her neck, which she had tucked into her cleavage. At the tip of the necklace, hung a metal ring with an intricate filigree design that was set with a large lapis lazuli stone. By the looks of it, the ring looked very old, as if someone just couldn't bear to part with it due to the sentimental value of the jewellery. It was hung next to an elaborately crafted pentagram that was made out of pewter.

"Anyway," Aliyah smiled. "Is there anything you'd like to do now?"

"Actually, I'd like to talk to you about our family." Bonnie said, hesitantly. "I kinda ignored my Grams when she talked about us being witches. I just thought she was crazy… or drunk."

Aliyah nodded. "I'll try my best to answer any questions you've got."

"How long have our family been witches?" Bonnie asked, leaning in closer.

Aliyah looked thoughtful. "Well, I am very old myself, but my mother once told me a story about one of our ancestors. I suppose she was attempting to use it as a cautionary tale, in a case where I attempted to misuse my powers, and I believe it is befitting that I tell you this story, for your own peace of mind and knowledge. Apparently, there was a witch, one of our ancestors, who lived sometime in the 1st Century B.C. Her name was Qetsiyah. You see, she was part of this subculture of witches. I really don't know much about them, and my mother was really sketchy on the details... maybe she didn't know much about them herself. But, basically, Qetsiyah was the witch that created the spell that turned people into vampires."

"Wait." Bonnie's eyes widened. "A spell turned people into vampires? So, a witch created vampires."

"Yes." Aliyah nodded. "A witch turned six humans into the Original vampires. Anyway, back to the story." She felt herself slip a mask onto her face, making sure her eyes remained clear of anything that may give her away.

Those were times she didn't like to talk about. Not to mention that she didn't quite trust Bonnie, no matter how much she wanted to be there for Bonnie, she couldn't shake the fact that the girl was a witch, and one who had lost her grandmother to the hands of vampires. She knew the girl couldn't hurt her, but she wouldn't let Bonnie hurt the people she loved.

"Qetsiyah fell in love with a warlock named Silas, who was also a part of this elite coven of witches, and they both planned to take the immortality spell as part of their wedding ceremony. But," A sad smile played on Aliyah's lips, imagining the pain that Qetsiyah must have felt. "Silas didn't show up to the wedding, which was probably such a kick in the face for her, and she found out that he was having an affair with her handmaiden, and they were doing the immortality spell together."

"I imagine she didn't take that too well." Bonnie said, dryly.

"No woman would." Aliyah pointed out, remembering a moment where she had felt that fury and hurt deep in her heart.

"So, what happened next?" Bonnie asked.

"Um," Aliyah frowned, rubbing the back of her neck. "I don't know, my mother never told me. Maybe she didn't know herself. I've been around for awhile, and I've heard variations of the story in a few places. But I'm still not sure what really happened." She shook her head. "It's probably just a legend, anyway. Something to teach little witches to mind themselves when it came to their powers."

"So, if the story's real, our family is really old." Bonnie mused. "Wow, Elena and Caroline seemed so full of themselves for being Founding Families of Mystic Falls, and by family dates back to Biblical times."

Aliyah laughed. "You know all that 'Founding Families' mania is absolute rubbish, right?"

Bonnie frowned. "What do you mean?" She leaned forward, eagerly.

"Well, Mystic Falls was settled long before 1860. After the witch trials of 1692, the Bennett family migrated to Mystic Falls." Aliyah grinned at the dumbfounded look on Bonnie's face.

"So, I'd be part of a real Founding Family." Bonnie stammered.

Aliyah smirked. "Actually, you're more than that. I was born here. My mother migrated here from the Old World, along with her friend, and she settled here. So, you are probably the only one in this town that has the right to call yourself a Founding Family. While we may not have had the name Bennett all those years ago, your ancestors helped create the settlement here."

_Although, your friend, Elena, has a distant relative in Tatia, and therefore, would be able to call herself a Founding Family as well. Although, Tatia did come here long after Mikael and Esther and Mother settled here, so Bonnie is more of a Founding Family than the rest of those entitled fools. _

"So, how long ago was that?" Bonnie asked, curiously.

Aliyah smiled, considering whether she should reveal to Bonnie exactly how old she was. She decided against it, resolving to wait until she was sure that the witch in front of her. "I think I'm entitled to keep a few secrets for now, darling. Never fear, I will tell you in due time."

Bonnie frowned, her eyes searching her face for a moment. "How old were you when you were turned?"

"I was a little over twenty-four when I was turned." Aliyah said, simply.

"You were young." Bonnie said, sadly.

"I was." Aliyah mused, sadly. "But not as young as Stefan was when he was turned. He was only seventeen."

"You didn't want it, did you?"

Aliyah swallowed hard. "There are few witches in the world that would choose to become a vampire. It is a hard thing to become accustomed to… losing your powers. To face every day knowing that you are an abomination of nature, that you go against every feeling you once had. I imagine it would drive many of those vampires to suicide."

"You never considered suicide?"

Aliyah's eyes widened. It was a question that only two people had ever asked her, and they had never needed her to reply to know her answer. "No." She said, finally. "I may have felt sorry for myself and I may have hated myself for the atrocities I have committed, but I have never wanted to kill myself. I had a family and I had a husband. He needed me and I was determined to never leave his side." She said, simply.

"Where is he now?" Bonnie asked, keen to know more about the woman who had appeared out of nowhere and knew Stefan and Damon and Katherine and was a witch-turned-vampire and apparently was so old that she didn't want to talk about it.

Aliyah tensed, the tattoos on her skin practically itching with every memory of him that flashed through her mind.

"_Now, keep your arm straight and pull back the bow." He told her, keeping a steady grip on her elbow._

"_How will I know when to release the bow?" She asked him, worriedly, chancing a look at him out of the corner of her eye._

"_Listen to your heart beat, it is there, right in between the beats. That is when you let go."_

_Aliyah let the bowstring snap and watched in amazement and excitement as the arrow struck the branch right through, knocking it off the tree. Aliyah laughed, gleefully, and spun on her feet, throwing her arms around Niklaus' shoulders, pressing her face into his neck. He chuckled, wrapping his arms around her waist, tightly, and hauling her up against his body, pressing sweet kisses to her long curly hair._

"_Niklaus, did you see the arrow? I knocked the branch right off the tree." She giggled._

_Niklaus stared down at her, fondly. "My little hellcat, you'll be a better hunter than me soon enough."_

_She shook her head, playfully. "No one could be a better hunter than you, Niklaus." She rested her head against his chest and felt his large hand came up to cup her head in it, his fingers stroking through her long curls._

_She looked up at him and was startled by the adoration she could see in his eyes. She felt him twist a hand in her hair and she leaned up, instinctively, watching as his eyes travelled down from her eyes to her lips. She licked her lips, wetting them softly, and resisted the urge to smile when she saw his eyes grow dark. _

_He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers, her eyes fluttering closed, as his hands settled on the small of her back. He dipped her, slightly, and his mouth moved more insistently over hers. She moaned low in her throat, and her hands found their way to his broad shoulders, gripping them tightly. _

_When they broke way, finally, her eyes were dark and her lips were red. She ran her tongue over her lips and she flushed. Niklaus looked sheepish and tucked a few curls behind her ear._

"_I apologise," Niklaus rubbed the back of his neck. "I took liberties."_

_Aliyah smiled, slowly. "Why don't you take them again?"_

_Niklaus grinned and leaned down, slanting his mouth over hers again._

"My husband and I are estranged." Aliyah said, finally, her eyes turning sad. "I decided that we needed some time away from each other. I haven't seen him in a very long time."

"I'm sorry." Bonnie said, softly, realising that her husband was a sore topic for her.

"It's fine." Aliyah smiled. "Things between us were bad before I left. I think we both need the break from each other." She clapped her hands, excitedly. "So, anything you'd like to do now? We could watch a movie… or, since you brought your grimoires, we… well, you… could practice some spells." She stared at Bonnie. "What can you do?"

"Well, it really started at a car wash." Bonnie rubbed the back of her neck. "This girl made me angry and I turned the hose back on her. My Grams told me that witches' emotions fuel their powers."

Aliyah nodded. "Especially, when you're untrained. When your powers are subconscious, they need a way to come out, and your emotions break all those walls your powers are behind. When you start learning to access your powers, you will have more control over what you can do with your powers. Your powers will start to mould to your wishes. Anything else?"

"Well, I can make things float in the air. I ripped up Elena's pillow and made the feathers float." Bonnie said, hesitantly. "And I did a séance to talk to Emily."

"Wait, you what?" Aliyah sat up straight. "Did she talk back?"

"She possessed me." Bonnie confessed.

"Okay, if you don't mind, can you please explain to me what happened?" Aliyah asked, sternly.

"Well, I started to have these dreams of Emily. I thought it was about this talisman I was wearing. My Grams told me that Emily was the one who created it, and she used the energy of an over-passing comet, to use the crystal to seal twenty-six vampires in the tomb under Fell's Church. Damon had it, but then he gave it to Caroline, who gave it to me. Damon tried to get it back from me, but it kept burning anyone who touched it."

Aliyah nodded. "I'd imagine only Bennett witches can touch it. I remember Emily wearing it when I was passing through Mystic Falls in 1864."

"That was when I did the séance. And Emily possessed me. Apparently, Damon and Emily made a deal back in 1864… that Emily would save Katherine from the Founding Families by putting her inside the Church, and Emily asked Damon, in return, to protect her family. But Emily refused to bring Katherine back because she didn't want the other twenty-six vampires to get out." Aliyah could see the way Bonnie's eyes tightened at this.

_Katherine Pierce... Katerina Petrova... someone should just kill her and be done with it._

"Of course, I may be a vampire and a sadistic bitch on occasion, but even I wouldn't let loose twenty-six starving vampires on an unsuspecting town." Aliyah mused.

"Emily destroyed the talisman and Damon attacked me."

Aliyah snarled, the veins under her eyes appearing and the whites of her eyes turning maroon red. She felt her fangs trying to slip out, but she reined her emotions in, not wanting to frighten Bonnie right at the beginning. She could feel the veins under her eyes receding and forced herself to calm down. "And you don't want me to deliver you Damon Salvatore's heart on a plate? He hurt you, he should die for that alone." She hissed.

She felt that same protectiveness ignite in her, in a way that she hadn't experienced for anyone except for Rebekah and Kol, and even then, not since they were human, although she had been daggered for her attempts to protect them every now and then. The girl in front of her needed to be protected. She was a Bennett witch and she would be a powerful one when she grew into her powers. And it would be so much better if she had Bonnie on her side when that happened. Stefan and Damon Salvatore would lead her astray from her path by turning her into their own personal protective service for the doppelganger. It would be a shame for all of that power and loyalty to be wasted on a Petrova.

"You said that you could make a bite pleasurable." Bonnie said, hesitantly.

Aliyah smiled, wickedly. "It can be very pleasurable. A sharp nip and if you go slow, it doesn't always have to hurt. If I have to drink blood for survival, why should I not make it nice for the other person? I can't be selfish."

"Do you sleep with them?" Bonnie asked, her eyes wide and her cheeks slightly flushing at such a scandalous thought.

Aliyah laughed. "No, I may have been tempted a few times, some of those women are absolutely delicious, but I'm committed to my husband. He'd get _really_ angry if I cheated on him. I'm more of a 'suck and run' kind of girl." She winked.

Bonnie laughed, despite the morbidity of the situation.

"But seriously, Bonnie, let me kill Damon. He could have seriously hurt you." She said, sternly.

"Stefan fed me his blood." Bonnie protested.

"_Stefan_ should have more of a control over his brother." Aliyah said, pointedly. "By letting Damon go around town when he's all crazy and impulsive, he's putting a lot of people at risk." She told her.

"I know." Bonnie sighed. "He's dangerous."

"Which is why I know exactly what you're going to learnt next." Aliyah grinned, wickedly.

"What?" Bonnie's eyebrows furrowed.

Aliyah jumped to her feet and moved behind the couch, pouring herself a drink. "When I was younger, just turning around thirteen, my mother taught me a spell to protect myself. In today's age, it's all about self-defence and pepper spray, but in my day, most women carried a small blade on them. As a witch, my mother taught me how to cause an aneurism. Basically you burst their blood vessels one at a time until they back off. As a vampire heals almost instantly, it would be necessary to burst multiple blood vessels at the same time in a vampire's brain and keep at it until they get taken down." Aliyah explained.

Bonnie jumped to her feet and joined Aliyah at the liquor cabinet. "Is there a spell for it?" She asked, curiously.

Aliyah smiled. "Nope. It's more of an 'unlocking your power and throwing it at them' kind of thing. We're going to work on getting you used to using your powers." She handed Bonnie a glass of scotch and led her over to the dining table.

"Bennett witches have traditionally practiced Traditional Magic. This magic is the energy of the Earth itself. That's why you might feel yourself becoming stronger when you're around nature. We Bennett witches have always had a special connection with nature. There are other types of magic. In New Orleans, the witches practice Ancestral Magic, which draws energy from the power of every witch who has been consecrated into New Orleans soil. However, this prevents them from leaving the boundaries of New Orleans, because they'd lose their powers. There's Spirit Magic, which draws energy from the Spirits who resided on the Other Side. But Spirit Magic has a drawback. It makes you beholden to the Spirits. You can only use magic how the Spirits see fit. If a witch abuses the power that is bestowed upon them, the Spirits may break their connection to the witch, preventing them from further harnessing their power."

"My Grams was really big on the Bennett witches thing." Bonnie mused.

Aliyah nodded. "The Bennett line is a line of extremely powerful witches, Bonnie. You, your grandmother, Emily, myself, my mother, stretching back to Qetsiyah, it makes you powerful and practically royalty in the witches' community." She smiled, gently. "When you learn how to use your powers properly and when you gain more experience, you will be _exceptional_, I promise."

Bonnie smiled.

* * *

><p>It was late evening when Aliyah walked into the Grill. She still found it slightly surreal walking around the quaint little town, remembering what used to exist in every single spot when she had been human. She had walked through the town square, where the natives used to gather to worship their gods a thousand years ago, to get to the Grill and she had been struck with the memory of one of the sacrifices, where she and Niklaus had snuck away from the festivities to make love in the forest. Elijah had been mad for Tatia back then, desperately trying to keep her attention focused on him and not some other boy in the village. It was with a mournful mind that she realised that was a time before everything had changed. Before Mikael had stormed in and ripped apart every bit of peace that she, Elijah and Niklaus had constructed for themselves.<p>

The bell on the top of the door dinged when she stepped over the threshold and she strode in, her dark eyes taking everything in, carefully. She smiled when her gaze landed on the bar, watching three specific people avidly. The Petrova doppelgänger stood in the middle of the three, and Aliyah resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

_And it happens again._

She recognised Damon sitting at the bar, nursing a glass, by his dark hair in a casual disarray. She looked closer and recognised the other boy, on the other side of Elena as being Stefan Salvatore, with just slightly shorter hair, and not wearing the frock coats of the 1860s or the sleek suits of the 1920s, the latter of which Stefan wouldn't remember, if Niklaus had done his job right. It was hard looking at Stefan now, knowing that he was happy with the doppelganger, while her sister rotted in a coffin for daring to fall in love with him.

Her tall heels clicked across the timber flooring, as she strode confidently towards the bar.

"Well, if this isn't just the strangest group of people." She exclaimed, approaching them.

All three of them turned to stare at her, horror-filled looks appearing on two of them, while the third's eyes dawned with recognition. Damon and Stefan simply stared at her, their faces bleak with confusion and terror. Elena frowned as if trying to put the pieces together, wondering how the woman from Bonnie's grandmother's funeral knew Stefan and Damon.

"You're the woman from Bonnie's Gram's funeral." Elena blurted out.

"I am," Aliyah smiled, nonchalantly. "And you're Elena Gilbert. Bonnie's told me about you." She turned her attention to Damon and Stefan. "It's good to see you two again, Stefan, Damon." She said, politely.

Stefan frowned and took a step closer to the woman who had helped him transition into a vampire. "How do you know Bonnie?"

"We're related." She shrugged.

"That's not possible." Damon snarled, kicking back the drink and standing to his feet.

"Oh, it is." Aliyah said, knowingly. "You see, Bonnie's a distant descendant of mine. And when I heard of Sheila's death, I wanted to be here for Bonnie." She said, sincerely. "You can imagine my surprise when she started to tell me stories about her friend Elena who's the exact double of Katerina Petrova, and her vampire boyfriend, Stefan Salvatore, and his vampire brother, Damon Salvatore."

"Who the hell is Katerina Petrova?" Damon snapped.

Aliyah raised an eyebrow. "Think it through, shortbus." She said, dryly.

"Wait," Stefan frowned. "Katherine is Katerina?"

Aliyah smirked. "Katherine has been playing games longer than you've been alive." She smiled at Elena. "I'm sure you're nothing like her. It takes a special kind of person to be like Katherine." _Or Tatia. _She stared at Stefan. "You know, Bonnie mentioned a Stefan Salvatore, and I thought to myself, it can't be that boy from Mystical Falls in 1864."

Damon turned to look at Stefan, incredulously. "You knew her back in 1864?"

Stefan kept his eyes on Aliyah, moving slightly in front of Elena, as if to protect her. Not that that would actually do anything if Aliyah was actually here to hurt Elena. It would be the easiest thing in the world for Aliyah to reach out and rip their hearts from their chests and drain Elena dry. But she had given Bonnie her word.

"She's the one that moved us from the woods and brought us to the quarry. She explained to me that Damon and I were transitioning and that we would need to drink human blood within twenty-four hours if we wanted to complete the transition, otherwise we wound die. And then she disappeared." He said, sharply.

"I was just in Mystic Falls for Katherine. You're lucky I let you both live. Letting two recently turned vampires loose is usually a stupid decision. I've killed so many of them, just for sport alone, but I let you both live." She said, dangerously. "I can kill you both now if I want, don't push me." She snarled.

"Wait, how do you know her?" Stefan asked Damon.

"Oh, we met in… 1931?" Aliyah winked at Damon. "The Swing Era. I met him as he was tearing out the throat of some poor canary, all drunk on bathtub gin."

Elena looked disgusted. "How can you say that with a straight face?"

Aliyah raised an eyebrow. "Hey, you're standing next to the Ripper of Monterey and you're talking to me about straight faces?" She winked when she saw Damon smile into his glass and Stefan pale at the mention of his vicious alter ego.

Elena frowned and looked at Stefan. "What does she mean 'Ripper of Monterey'?"

"Not the time for that, darling." Aliyah waved off. She hid her smirk behind a blinding smile, loving it when she was able to screw with people without them knowing. "I just came here to talk to Damon and Stefan, and I'll be getting back to Bonnie."

Elena straightened. "Wait, getting back to Bonnie? If you've hurt her-" She began, hotly.

Aliyah rolled her eyes. She held up her hand to prevent her from saying another word. "Hush, little girl. I have no intention of hurting Bonnie, in fact, I want to help her. She is my family and I take family very seriously. I mean none of you any harm, and I actually want to help you. You let loose twenty-six homicidal vampires on this town and I want to help you take them down." She shrugged. "Call it my protectiveness over Bonnie. Can't let the word get out that there's a Bennett witch out there, people may start gunning for her." She turned to Damon. "You're looking for Katherine." She saw his face tighten in fury. "I wouldn't worry if I were you. By now, she's probably found out that the tomb vampires are loose. Maybe she's even found out about Elena. She's probably on her way here already."

Aliyah looked over at Elena, who looked slightly startled by the softness in Aliyah's eyes and the mention of her name. "I'm sorry, Elena, but you've inherited a whole lot of rubbish that you really shouldn't have inherited." She said, somewhat sympathetically. She did feel sorry for Elena, despite the memories that her face brought. An innocent young girl who finds herself a part of something so much bigger than herself, it had to be jarring. "Look, I honestly have no intention of hurting you. I'm only here for Bonnie. And seeing as your Two Stooges over here pose a threat to her, I'm warning you now. Bonnie is not your personal witch. She is young and she'll probably get killed in your efforts to bring down all the tomb vampires." She smiled. "Rest assured, I will not allow Bonnie to become a victim of your hero complex, Stefan."

Stefan raised an eyebrow. "You did just come in here and threaten us." He pointed out.

She nodded. "I did. But threatening is the least of your worries when it comes to me. I'm so much more dangerous than that and I've got centuries on you." She said, warningly. "I'm leaving you here, peacefully, Stefan. Leave Bonnie out of your tomb vampire fiasco and protect Elena. That's all I'm asking you to do."

Elena frowned. "Why do you want me protected?"

Aliyah reached out and placed her hand on Elena's shoulder. "I should hate you for your face. A woman with your face caused me plenty of grief back in the day." She could see the wheels turning in Elena's head and guessed that Elena thought she meant Katherine. "But, I don't hate you, Elena. Rest assured, for as long as you don't hurt Bonnie or anyone else that I care about, you will be under my protection. Your appearance puts you in a lot of danger and I don't want you to end up like your predecessors." Aliyah leaned in and bared her teeth in a vicious smile. "So, don't screw it up." She hissed.

She turned to Damon. "I have to say it's good to see you, Damon."

Damon smiled and tipped the glass in her direction. "I'm afraid I can't say the same."

Aliyah shrugged. "Don't be, I was being sarcastic anyway." Her hand fell onto Damon's shoulder and squeezed, feeling the snap of his clavicle and scapula under her fingers. "Put your hands _or_ your teeth on Bonnie again and I'll rip your heart out of your chest and feed it to my dogs." She purred. She patted him on the shoulder, smiling when she heard his wince of pain.

Stefan and Elena looked at her with wonder, Stefan with just the slightest bit of humour. She smiled, warmly, at Elena, who smiled somewhat hesitantly back. She gave Stefan a meaningful look.

"Leave Bonnie out of your problems and keep an eye on Elena." Aliyah shrugged. "That shouldn't be too hard for a vampire of your calibre."

She smirked and spun on her heel, walking away.

* * *

><p>"I brought pizza." Aliyah said, excitedly. "How's the magic coming, Bonnie girl?"<p>

Bonnie gave her scathing look, looking up from her grimoires. "I told you not to call me that." She hissed.

Aliyah smirked. "Yeah, and I didn't listen." She dropped the pizza boxes on the dining room table and walked over to the lounge, where Bonnie was sitting. She looked down at the page which described the instructions for the aneurism spell. "Oh, Bonnie girl, you're gonna need some time before you can do that. Don't go straight to the big leagues, darling. Choose something a little simpler and work your way up to it."

"I'm trying!" Bonnie snapped and she felt the table shake with the force of her anger.

"You need to calm down." Aliyah said, plainly. "Rome wasn't built in a day and you're not going to become a super-awesome-mega-witch in a few hours. Why don't we try…" She flicked through the pages of the grimoires and settled on a page. "A fire spell?"

Bonnie stared at the page for a moment, her eyes scanning the words. She took in a sharp breath and looked at Aliyah for a moment, nodding. Aliyah went over to a drawer in a wall unit, pulling out a candle and placing it on the table. She quickly struck a match and set the candle of fire, the slow flame burning at the size of Aliyah's thumb.

"_Ex Spiritum In Tacullum, En Terrum Incendium, Phasmatos Salves A Distum!_" Bonnie chanted, her voice lowering to a drawl, and the fire flared, brightly, much larger than at first, before receding to inexistence.

Aliyah turned to Bonnie, beaming proudly, as Bonnie replied with an answering smile that lit up her face.

"Oh, you're going to be _exceptional_, Bonnie girl." She purred.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN**_: Hope you all liked reading the chapter as much as I did writing it! It was really interesting writing Bonnie's and Aliyah's relationship, along with Stefan's and Elena's and Damon's reactions to Aliyah coming to Mystic Falls. Next chapter onwards we'll get back to the plot of Season 1, namely the tomb vampires and Stefan and Damon going to Aliyah for help, starting off with _A Few Good Men_. I want to take Season 1 to establish Bonnie's relationship with Aliyah and Aliyah's presence in Mystic Falls, the way Elijah did in Season 2. I hope you liked the flashback. If you didn't guess, it was Klaus and Aliyah's first kiss back when they were human.

I used this chapter to show that Aliyah's isn't as compassionate and kind as she seemed in the first chapter. She can be manipulative in her own way, but she does genuinely care about Bonnie, but she wants Bonnie not to be a danger to her or anyone she cares about. She's kind of taking advantage of Bonnie being angry at Elena and Stefan and Damon and using it for her own benefit, to establish her own presence in Bonnie's life. She can be fairly scary when threatened, I mean, she was married to Klaus Mikaelson for a thousand years, she must've learnt a few tricks along the way.

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed the chapter and don't forget to review!


	3. A Few Good Men

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Vampire Diaries in any shape or form. But I do own my OC._

_**A/N**__: This chapter will follow 1X15 (A Few Good Men) and will establish Aliyah's presence in Mystic Falls and how she interacts with the human characters, like Carol Lockwood, Liz Forbes, Alaric and Jenna and some more interactions between Stefan, Damon, Elena and Aliyah. And some more Bonliyah goodness._

_**Reviews**__:_

Guest: Thank you so much!

NicoleR85: Thank you so much! I have updated both _Dream Weaver_ and _The Dread of Tomorrow and Yesterday_ since I updated this story, so there you go!

Skyeward MusicLover: Thank you so much!

jordanjanellejoy: I think Bonnie and Caroline are the more under-appreciated characters of the show, and I've seen too many Gilbert sister/cousin stories, and I think Bonnie needed someone after Sheila died to help her and I never really liked the fact that Elena just went on with Stefan, without caring that he and Damon were pretty much the reason that Sheila was dead. So, I think Aliyah's good for Bonnie right now.

tate4eva: Thank you so much!

**Stormdancer**

**Chapter 3**

**A Few Good Men**

"_Hey, Bonnie, it's me, Elena. I just wanted to see how you've been and for you not to forget that we're all here for you. Hope you're having fun with your aunt."_

Aliyah frowned. "Why does she think you're with your aunt when I just met her a couple of days ago?"

Bonnie pressed the button to delete the message. "It was an old one. It doesn't matter." She attempted to say, nonchalantly, but her eyes were sadder than usual.

"Okay," Aliyah sank down on the couch. "Do you wanna talk about it? I don't have much experience when it comes to teenage girl issues – things were much simpler for us back when I was human, and these things just sort of fade away when you become a vampire – but I can be a great listener." She offered.

Bonnie sighed and leaned back. "It's just…" She trailed off, not quite sure of how to put this.

Aliyah looked at her, expectantly.

"Stefan and Damon are the reasons why my Grams died." Bonnie said, bluntly. "I just… I'm finding it a little hard to get over that."

Aliyah snorted. "There's no need that you should. You're right, if Damon hadn't been such a lovesick fool, head over heels for Katerina Petrova of all women, and if Stefan had the guts to pull his brother back in line, Sheila would still be alive."

"I don't want to put Elena in a middle." Bonnie shook her head.

"But it's her fault that it's happening in the first place." Aliyah pointed out. "Sheila wouldn't have died if Damon hadn't tried to use Elena as leverage against Stefan and you." She shifted in her seats. "You know, Sheila had the right idea. Witches shouldn't get involved in vampire business, Bonnie. Witches would end up dead." She said, delicately.

"You're a vampire." Bonnie pointed out.

"But I'd never ask you to get involved in my business." Aliyah said, gently. "It would only get you killed and I don't want that for you."

"It isn't her fault… not really." Bonnie shrugged. "She's… she's just another victim in all of this. She doesn't deserve it."

"Maybe she should stick to her own species, then?" Aliyah said, gently.

Bonnie shook her head, feeling quite resentful. "She won't give him up." She spat. "But she's still my friend and I don't want Stefan to tear us apart."

Aliyah smiled, fondly. Her respect for the strong girl in front of her only grew and grew. "You are an admirable person, Bonnie. You are not willing to compromise your feelings for her lover, but you're still not willing to lose her as your friend. Anyone else would have given into their selfish desires and thrown Elena away."

Bonnie smiled, sheepishly.

"Well, how about your other friend? Caroline, was it?" Aliyah asked, interestedly.

Bonnie's smile widened. "I talk to her every day." She confessed. "She can be a bit insensitive, but she really is a good friend. She's had a hard run of it with Damon being in town."

Aliyah frowned. "What do you mean?" She asked, carefully.

"Well, he compelled her to be his girlfriend and his personal blood bag." Bonnie told her, slowly. "At the Founders' Party, Elena and I could see bruises and bite marks where Damon had fed on her."

Aliyah shook with fury and she could feel her control slipping, but she held onto every shred of her self-control, willing her eyes not to change, and the veins under her eyes and her fangs not to appear.

"Why is he not dead?" Aliyah snarled. "He should've died years ago. I think I'm being too lenient on the piece of scum." She hissed.

Bonnie shifted, feeling guilty all of a sudden. "I should've done something to help Caroline. We just kind of forgot about it after awhile." She whispered.

Aliyah shook her head. "I have been around for a very long time, Bonnie. If there is one thing I cannot stand, it is when men put their hands on women without their consent." Her eyes glazed over, when she remembered something. "When I was human, I was cornered by a few men… this was before I knew of the aneurism spell, and I was just beginning my training as witch. If my husband hadn't come when he had…" She trailed off and shook her head. "I had never been scared like that before that day. I wouldn't wish that fear on anyone else." She paused. "You said that Damon compelled her to be his girlfriend… do you know if he forced her to…"

"Have sex with him." Bonnie finished, horror dawning in her eyes. "Oh, my God." Her head fell into her hands and tears leaked out onto her fingers. "I should've done something, I should've protected her."

"Bonnie, this isn't your fault. You're just a child." Aliyah sighed. "You shouldn't be a part of this fight. You should be able to go to school and live your life without worrying about witches and vampires." She shook her head. "Would you mind if I spoke to Caroline, just to figure out whether she's compelled or not? If she isn't, I might have to compel her to forget what happened. It would be better for her in the long run, not having to remember what Damon did to her. Or at least, help her get through it and move past Damon's torture."

Bonnie looked uncertain.

"I won't compel her without her permission, I swear, Bonnie." Aliyah shook her head. "I have a great deal of compassion for those who have been through what Caroline has."

"I should've done more for Caroline. I should've been more sympathetic." Bonnie said, mournfully.

"Well, there's nothing you can do about it now." Aliyah pointed out. "Did you tell Caroline about me?"

Bonnie nodded. "I told her that my cousin's come down to Mystic Falls to help through my Grams' death."

"Okay, cousin…" Aliyah clapped her hands. "I can work with that." She paused. "Has Elena talked to you about me?"

Bonnie nodded. "She left me a message on my phone. Basically asking me why I didn't tell her about you and that you were dangerous. She told me you broke Damon's collarbone." She chided.

"And scapula." Aliyah said, cheerfully. Bonnie glared at her and she rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, Bonnie girl. He deserved it, he bit you, you could've been really hurt. And that's nothing compared to what he's done to Caroline." Aliyah's jaw set in a hard line. "There are certain lines which no one should cross and Damon crossed a line when he did that to Caroline." She shook her head. "I won't kill him now, because of the promise I made to you, but I won't actively try and save him. He's impulsive and reckless and there are twenty-six tomb vampires out for blood." Aliyah shrugged. "I'm sure you can do the math."

Bonnie shook her head in disbelief. "Sometimes, I swear…"

"I don't like rapists." She waggled her finger at Bonnie. "And I don't like Damon Salvatore even more."

"So, I'm officially your cousin. Actually, I'm your aunt, a million times removed, but those are all semantics. I can work with 'cousin', and I am physically only twenty-four." Aliyah nodded to herself.

"Why are you debating whether you can pull off being my cousin?" Bonnie asked, confused.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you. I have a meeting with Carol Lockwood, she's the head of the Mystic Falls Historical Society, and her husband, the mayor." Aliyah said, nonchalantly, standing up and moving to a hallway mirror, making sure her jewellery was on correctly.

"What, why?" Bonnie frowned, staring at her with alarm.

"Bonnie girl." Aliyah stared at her for a moment. "I plan on being in Mystic Falls for awhile. I need a cover story and I need to hide in plain sight. What better way than to make friends with the two most avid members of the town's council against vampire threats." She smiled to herself.

_Ugh, I'm turning into Niklaus. _

She stared at herself in the mirror. Her white midriff corset top contrasted nicely with her dark skin, coupled together with a blue, flowery skirt, tight and coming up to her knees, and white pumps. She ran a hand through her black curls, tousling them softly.

"What's your cover story?" Bonnie asked, curiously.

"Oh, I'm a photojournalist writing a book on Mystic Falls. You know… something to make them feel like they're the most important people in the world." She shrugged.

"Why do I feel like you do this a lot?" Bonnie smirked.

Aliyah grinned at her reflection in the mirror and winked at Bonnie. "Don't worry, darling, I'm a master at this by now. No one will get hurt. I just don't want anyone to get suspicious about Bonnie's never-before-seen cousin, who plans to stay in Mystic Falls for the foreseeable future."

She blew her a kiss and walked out the door.

"Have fun and don't burn my apartment down."

* * *

><p>Aliyah walked into The Grill, the door shutting behind her, and she spotted two, very prim people sitting at one of the booths. She sighed and walked in their direction, the heels of her pumps clacking against the timber flooring.<p>

"Hello, are you Carol and Richard Lockwood?" Aliyah asked, as warmly as she possibly could.

"Yes." A dark-haired woman stood up and shook her outstretched hand. She was beautiful and slim, with light blue eyes. "You must be Aliyah, the photojournalist writing the book."

"Yes, Aliyah Bennett. It's a pleasure to meet you." She smiled.

"Bennett, huh?" Richard's eyes roved over hers. "Any relation to Sheila and Bonnie Bennett?"

Aliyah smiled, viciously. "Bonnie's my cousin and Sheila was my grandmother."

Carol's face fell. She patted Aliyah's hand. "I'm so very sorry for your loss, Aliyah."

"Thank you for your condolences." Aliyah said, formally. "My cousin told me you were at the funeral. I myself arrived late."

"Yes." Recognition dawned in Carol's eyes. "I remember seeing you at the funeral. Bonnie seemed very confused to see you there. How's she doing?"

"Bonnie's a strong girl. She's a lot like her grandmother. She'll pull through." She said, confidently. Aliyah shrugged. "I haven't been in Mystic Falls in what seems like centuries." She smiled to herself, realising the truth of the statement, but masking it as an exaggeration. "But I thought I should be here for Bonnie. Her father called me up and told me he wouldn't be able to be here in time for the funeral, so I thought I'd show to offer her some comfort. When I told Bonnie about our meeting, she mentioned she knew your son."

"Yes," Carol smiled, fondly, at the reminder of her son. "Tyler. He and Bonnie practically grew up together."

Aliyah smiled. "Well, doesn't that sound sweet."

"So, why don't you tell us a little about your book?" Richard asked her.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the way his dark eyes moved over her figure, and she resisted the urge to grimace. She had a part to play after all, and she couldn't be caught. And tearing the man's eyes out of their sockets would most likely give her away.

She took a deep breath and focused her senses. She frowned, realising that the Lockwood man struck her as odd. The way he smelt to her, it was almost as if being in the presence of a werewolf. But, that couldn't be possible. A werewolf would have not been comfortable in her presence. A werewolf would not have known what she was, but would have been suspicious. Richard Lockwood seemed entirely too calm in presence. That would mean that he was werewolf that hadn't triggered the gene yet. She remembered pulling a George Lockwood off Emily back in 1864, and tearing his heart out of his chest, knowing that he was a triggered werewolf. She guessed that Richard Lockwood was a carrier and that he and his son had the potential to become werewolves.

_Oh, joy, so not only vampires, but werewolves as well._

"Well, I was talking to Bonnie after the funeral and she mentioned your Night of the Comet Festival and Founder's Party." She told them. "And I was immediately struck with the idea of writing a book featuring Mystic Falls in a big way."

"What would your book be about?" Carol preened.

"Well, a working title would be 'The Enduring Appeal and Historical Integrity of Small-Town Traditions'. I find it interesting how Mystic Falls seems to uphold all of the historical traditions that led to the creation of the town." Aliyah smiled, sweetly. "I'm a bit of a traveller, and I cannot for the life of me remember seeing another town so closely-knitted and conventional."

"Well, I have to admit that I'm intrigued with what you'll come up with." Carol clapped her hand and smiled at Aliyah, excitedly. "How long were you intended to stay here?"

"I haven't quite decided, but I'd really like to observe all of your annual traditions before I leave." Aliyah told them, taking a sip of the drink she had ordered on the sly.

"Well, you're actually in luck." Carol smiled, winningly, at her. "Tonight is actually the Founder's Day Fundraiser and Bachelor Raffle."

"Ooh," Aliyah laughed, just slightly out of condescension. "A Bachelor Raffle."

"We hope you'll compete to win a date with one of the bachelors." Richard said, knowingly.

Aliyah chuckled. "I would, but…" She showed the mayor and his wife her right hand and the two gold bands on her ring finger. "I'm married. I'm afraid I'm taken."

Carol laughed and waved her off. "Oh, nonsense, there's no harm in a little window shopping. Even I'm competing. You might as well buy a few tickets."

Aliyah grinned. "I'll take your word for it. Hmm, maybe I just might." She said, playfully.

"Oh, there's one of our bachelors now." Carol stared beyond Aliyah's shoulder. "Alaric! Jenna!"

A pretty young woman with a pale complexion, hazel eyes and medium-length blonde hair, along with a tall handsome man, with short brown hair and blue eyes, approached the Lockwoods and Aliyah.

"Hey, Carol, what's going on?" Jenna asked, smiling over at Aliyah.

"This is Aliyah Bennett. She's Bonnie's cousin and a photojournalist who's planning to write a book on Mystic Falls." Carol informed Alaric and Jenna.

"Bonnie's cousin?" Jenna's eyes widened. "Oh, right, you were at the funeral."

"And you're Elena's aunt? Bonnie told me about you. And you're Alaric Saltzman, Bonnie's history teacher. She has a great deal of respect for you."

"So, why a book about Mystic Falls?" Jenna asked, interested.

"I don't know." Aliyah laughed. "This town has such a great history to it that I thought it'd make such a great case study."

"Well, my sister married into a Founding Family like the Lockwoods. If you need any help, don't hesitate to ask." Jenna told her, warmly.

"Will do." Aliyah grinned. She checked her watch, surreptitiously. "Ooh, would you look at the time? I should really be getting back to Bonnie." She said, mock-mournfully.

"How's she doing, anyway? I know Elena's been leaving her a bunch of messages, but Bonnie hasn't answered back." Jenna said, sadly.

"She's not taking it all that well." Aliyah said, sadly, and actually meant it. "I think Sheila was the only one she had for a long time, and she feels really lost without her. I'm trying to keep her mind off it, but she's still got a long way to go."

Jenna placed a hand on Aliyah's shoulder, comfortingly. "It must be hard for you too. Let me know if you need any help with anything. I'd be happy to help."

Aliyah had a gift for reading people. It was her witches' intuition that had only heightened when she had turned into a vampire, in fact Niklaus had described her as having 'flawless instincts' once. When she looked at Carol Lockwood, she saw someone refined and polite, a perfectionist and pretty much a snob. Richard Lockwood struck her as someone arrogant and selfish and self-serving, constantly angry, although she attributed that to him being a carrier of the werewolf gene. Alaric Saltzman seemed to her as someone who was outwardly friendly and warm, but she could see his eyes tinged with grief and guilt. He had a swarm of demons rushing around in his mind and he was weary, that she could easily see. She could also see that he was a hunter. Not a dangerous one, not one that knew of Original Vampires, and definitely not one of The Brotherhood of The Five. But a vampire hunter, nonetheless. She would have to be very careful around him.

But Jenna. She was caring and naïve, as Aliyah could easily tell she knew nothing of vampires or werewolves, the way that Alaric, Carol and Richard seemed to know. She would have laughed in private at the irony, seeing as her niece was currently sharing a bed with the Ripper of Monterey, and her nephew had almost become the chew toy to a recently-turned vampire. Jenna struck her as being fun loving and good spirited, and strong-willed. She was sure that she would like the woman in front of her. It had been a long time since she had a friend her age.

* * *

><p>In the Salvatore Boarding House, Damon was feeding off a young sorority girl, while other girls danced to the music blaring from speakers in the room. Bite marks were scattered up and down the bodies of all of the girls, and Damon finally came up for air after feeding.<p>

"How do I taste?" The drunken sorority girl that Damon had been dancing with asked.

"Oh, so much better than your friends. But shh. Don't tell them. They might get jealous." Damon slurred in a dramatic whisper.

Suddenly, the lights came on and Stefan entered the room.

"No! Buzzkill Bob." Damon grumbled. Stefan turned the music off and Damon looked up at him, his eyes red and bleary. "Greetings." He muttered, reluctantly.

"Can we talk?" Stefan asked.

"Yeah."

Stefan grimaced, looking at the sorority girls with distaste. "Without the Tri-Delts."

Damon shook his head. "Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of them. They're really good at keeping secrets."

Stefan pushed his way through and dragged Damon to a private corner while the girls lounged around on the sofa. Damon swung the bottle of booze in his hand, half-heartedly.

"You're worried about me. That's nice. Don't be. There's no need. I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be? I spent the last 145 years with one goal: get in that tomb. I succeeded. Granted, Katherine wasn't in there to be rescued, but why dwell? You know, it's so liberating not having a master plan, because I can do whatever the hell I want." Damon scowled.

"Now, that is something to be afraid of."

Damon and Stefan spun around to see Aliyah leaning against the doorway. Her upper lip curled in displeasure as she stared at the number of sorority girls lounging in the room.

"Well, at least now I know that Caroline Forbes wasn't a one-time thing, and you're actually a big-time sleazebag." Aliyah growled, stepping into the room and making her way over to the brothers.

Damon frowned through the haze in his mind. "What the hell are you doing here?" He snarked.

"Well, I was on my way back from a meeting with the Lockwoods, Alaric Saltzman and Jenna Sommers, and I thought I'd just pop in on my _least_ favourite vampire brothers." Aliyah smiled, sweetly.

"How do you know Caroline?" Stefan asked, curiously.

He didn't know what to think of the vampire in front of him. He didn't know much about her, only that she was much older and stronger than he was. She also didn't seem to be a huge fan of him or Elena, but seemed hell-bent on protecting Bonnie from them. He could see why that was. Because of him, and Damon, Bonnie had lost the only family she had left, and by continuing her relationship with him, it would look to Bonnie that Elena had chosen her side. But why did Aliyah hate Elena so much?

He guessed that Bonnie was quickly forming a bond with the vampire in front of him and he still didn't know whether she was a friend or a threat. He remembered, that night in the Grill, that she had promised to stay out of that way as long as he protected Elena and kept Bonnie out of the tomb vampire business. He didn't think she'd hurt them if he stuck to his end of the agreement, but he needed to be careful around her.

"Relax. I haven't killed anyone in…" Damon sighed. "Too long."

"And those girls?" Stefan raised an eyebrow.

"Will end up in their dorm with headaches, think they blacked out. Business as usual. Predictable you didn't pull me over here for a pep talk. So drink up." Damon pushed the bottle into Stefan's chest. "Spill it, brother."

Aliyah bit her lip, thoughtfully, and decided to go through with it. She rushed at him and pinned him to the nearest wall, her age and strength and experience and his drunkenness all working against him. Her hand wrapped against his throat and she smiled, viciously. Her other hand reached up and dug into the skin at the top of his face, and she dragged down, raking her nails in deep, bloody lines down his face, watching as his skin healed.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" She purred, knowingly. "It should. I want you to hurt. You narcissistic, sick bastard. I should kill you now for what you did to poor Caroline. You know, there's nothing in this world I hate more than men who force themselves on others. It makes me angrier than anything." She sighed, mournfully. "Can't kill you, though. I still need you both." Her other hand reached out and gripped Stefan by his throat, pinning him against the wall beside Damon.

It was easy for her to compel both of them. Neither of them were aware that Original vampires existed, let alone the fact that they had the ability to compel other vampires. They weren't on vervain and they were not witches.

"Now, tell me, is there anything going in Mystic Falls that I should know about?" She asked, slowly.

"Elena is searching for her birth mother. Her name was Isobel Flemming and she was Alaric's wife. I think that Damon killed her when he was in North Carolina at Duke." Stefan said, blankly.

"Of course she's adopted." Aliyah rolled her eyes. "She's a Petrova doppelganger. Isobel must be the ancestral link to Katerina and Tatia." She paused. "Tell me what you know of the vampires that were in the tomb." She ordered.

"Nothing, they haven't surfaced since the tomb was opened."

"Hmm, I wonder what they're waiting for." Aliyah hummed. "Okay, then, who in the town has vervain in them or on them and who knows about vampires?"

"Elena's necklace has vervain in it. Jeremy Gilbert's bracelet has vervain in it. Jenna Sommers wears a perfume that contains vervain. After the Founder's Party, I gave Caroline Forbes a vervain necklace, but only Elena and Bonnie and Alaric Saltzman know about vampires." Stefan told her.

"Elizabeth Forbes, Richard and Carol Lockwood all wear vervain on them and they all know about vampires." Damon told her, impassively.

"Thank you so much, boys." Aliyah crooned. "You've been of so much help. You will not take vervain until I can tell you both you can and you will keep me informed on anything that has to do with Elena, or anything strange that happens in this town, immediately. You will not act against me. You will protect Elena and you will forget any of this happened. I came here, I threatened Damon to treat women with respect and I left."

"We will not take vervain until you can tell both of us we can and we will keep you informed on anything that has to do with Elena or anything strange that happens in this town, immediately. We will not act against you. We will protect Elena and we will forget any of this happened. You came here, you threatened Damon to treat women with respect and you left." Both Damon and Stefan said, blankly.

Aliyah left and Damon and Stefan blinked a few times.

"Well, she's a scary one, isn't she?" Damon shuddered.

Stefan shook his head. "Let's not worry about her right now. There was a woman you may have known a few years back named Isobel in North Carolina at Duke."

Damon raised an eyebrow. "You wanna discuss the women in my past right now? Seriously? A psychotic vampire just came into our house and threatened me and you wanna discuss the notches in my bedpost?"

"You killed her." Stefan said, darkly.

Damon smirked. "What's your point?"

"I just-just wanna know if you remember anything about her." Stefan said, weakly.

"Oh, it's like a needle in a haystack, Stefan." Damon shrugged.

"Well, think hard. It's important." Stefan snapped.

Damon grasped Stefan's shoulder and whispered in his ear. "Nothing is important, not anymore." He clapped Stefan on the shoulder and pulled away, grabbing the bottle from Stefan's hand. "Great chat. I have to go and exploit some women in the name of grief, which I'm sure you understand."

Damon walked back to the girls.

* * *

><p>Aliyah walked up to Alaric and Jenna, who were hanging up a banner, outside, for the Founder's Fundraiser.<p>

"I don't know. It's just weird, you know, me being raffled off like a Disney Cruise." She heard Alaric tell Jenna.

Jenna snickered. "In this town, fundraising is like indentured servitude. You don't have a choice. Besides, you're a bachelor, and you're eligible, so there you go."

Alaric moved to the side of the banner that Jenna is attempting to hang up.

"Here. Let me help you with this." Alaric told her.

Alaric helped her hang up the banner and Jenna smiled up at him. Alaric leaned in and kissed Jenna, sweetly and lightly, Jenna looking windswept as he pulled away. Aliyah smiled. It was always refreshing to watch young love. It reminded her of what life was like before anger and paranoia and jealousy destroyed every relationship in her life.

_Aliyah giggled and threw herself behind one of the trees, trying to hide from his advances._

"_Liyah, come on, love, you know you can't hide from me." Niklaus' voice came through the trees and made her shiver._

_Suddenly, she squealed when two strong arms wrapped around her waist and tugged her up against his muscled body. She laughed, as he spun around, pinning her against the tree with his hands splayed across her waist._

_His hands slid up from her waist and fell onto her shoulders, his fingers slid down the sleeves of her dress, pulling them down her arms and baring the naked skin of her shoulders and collarbone to his gaze._

_His lips descended and trailed a line of searing kisses against her skin, making her arch her back and whimper. Her hands slid up from his shoulders to bury in his long blonde hair, tugging on the curls wildly, holding his lips against her skin. Her legs spread of their own volition and he stepped closer, holding her up against the tree by his hips, which had fit, snugly, in between her thighs._

"_Oh, Niklaus. Never stop." She moaned and he smirked against her skin._

"_There's my hellcat." Niklaus growled._

"Oh, god. I can't believe I'm gonna do this." Jenna moaned, shaking her head.

"What?" Alaric frowned.

"I am totally going to ruin this moment, but I-I have to tell you. Elena recently found out she was adopted, and she's been looking for her birth mother... whose name was Isobel." Jenna confessed.

Alaric paled and reeled back in shock. "Isobel? Like my wife?"

Jenna nodded, hesitantly.

"Isobel never had a baby." Alaric stammered.

Jenna bit her lower lip. "Are you sure? Not before you were together?"

"Nope. No way." Alaric shook his head.

Jenna's hand shook and she took out her phone and handed it to Alaric, showing him a picture of Isobel that was on the screen.

"This is Elena's birth mother." Jenna murmured.

Alaric looked alarmed, looking sick to his stomach. "Ah, she, uh, she never told me. I, uh, I'm gonna go. Yeah, I'm gonna-gonna go."

Alaric awkwardly walked off and Jenna sighed heavily.

"Are you all right?" Aliyah called out, coming up to Jenna.

Jenna's eyes widened and she blinked. "Oh, hi, Aliyah. Didn't see you there." She shook her head. "Yeah, I'm fine. When you tell the guy you like something he probably doesn't want to hear…"

"It probably won't end well." Aliyah finished, knowingly.

Jenna sighed and jumped off the ladder. "Men… I don't exactly have a good track record with them. What about you? You seeing someone?"

"Oh, I'm married, actually. Well, separated, if we're being specific." Aliyah told her, a sad smile forming on her face.

Jenna's eyes widened. "But you're so young." She paled. "I didn't mean-"

Aliyah laughed. "Would you be more surprised if I told you I'd been married twice?"

"No way." Jenna whispered. "But you're younger than me."

"My first husband and I got married when I was _very _young." Aliyah said, fondly. "But it was arranged between us, and I was in love with someone else. He let me go and be happy." She whispered, pain flaring in her chest momentarily.

Jenna smiled, sadly. She placed her hand on Aliyah's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

Jenna squeezed her shoulder and stared at Aliyah with the most genuine look that Aliyah had been graced with by a human in such a long time. She wondered if she had been so isolated from people, so broken, that she didn't even know the last time someone had treated her with sincerity.

"Did you love your first husband?" Jenna asked, hesitantly.

Aliyah paled. No one had ever asked her that question. Neither of them had asked her that question because neither of them had wanted to know the answer. If she had said yes, someone would have been hurt. If she had said no, someone would have been hurt. To keep the peace, she hadn't been honest, not wanting to hurt either of them with her answer.

"I think… I did." Aliyah's brow furrowed. "I did love him. A lot. I think a part of me will always love him. But I loved my second husband more. I wanted him more. And my first husband… he accepted that. He was okay with that. He bowed out, gracefully. I felt guilty for ages after that. I could barely look him in the eye."

Jenna smiled and shook her head. "God, my man troubles must seem really bland compared to your love life."

"No, Jenna." Aliyah said, sincerely, swallowing hard. She thought of Rebekah, who had experienced more heartbreak in her long life than any girl should, but still found the strength from somewhere to love again and again. "Pain is pain, and love is love. No one has the right to tell you that your pain means nothing." She murmured.

Jenna sighed. "Well, at least tonight's the Bachelor's Raffle." She said, making Aliyah laugh. "Do you mind helping me with this?" She asked, gesturing to the banner.

"No problem at all." Aliyah shrugged.

* * *

><p>"Bonnie girl, are you sure you don't wanna come with me?" Aliyah asked, worriedly. "I don't want you to be all by yourself."<p>

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "I'm a big girl, Ali. I'll be fine." She smiled, tightly. "You go and have fun. You look like you need it."

Aliyah ran a hand through her hair, tousling the black curls to fall around her shoulders, gracefully. She tweaked the long black earrings she wore and slid her hands down her halter-neck black dress that dipped low, showing her cleavage, smoothening out the fabric and tightening the belt that came around under her bust.

"You look really nice, Ali." Bonnie grinned at her. "Have fun and I hope you get a date out of it."

Aliyah rolled her eyes. "Yeah, like that's gonna happen." She turned to Bonnie, her eyes widening like a puppy dog's. "Please come with me, I don't want to schmooze with these people. It's so boring." She groaned.

Bonnie mock-glared at her. "Go before I make you." She threatened.

"I hate you… so freaking much." Aliyah grumbled, walking out the door.

* * *

><p>Carol was on the stage, talking into a microphone, introducing the Fundraiser as the mayor's wife and the head of the Historical Society.<p>

"Tickets for the raffle are now on sale. All proceeds benefit the annual Founder's Day celebration."

She stepped off the stage and made for Aliyah, who she could see was just entering The Grill.

"Aliyah, I'm so glad you could make it." Carol said, warmly, kissing her on both cheeks.

"It was my pleasure." Aliyah laughed, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "What a nice way to start my book."

Carol suddenly spotted someone and waved them over. "Aliyah, I'd like you to meet someone. This is Damon Salvatore, he's one of the bachelors for tonight and a member on our Founder's Council."

Aliyah smiled, gently, at Damon and stretching out her hand, intending for him to shake it. "It's very nice to meet you, Damon. I'm sure you'll fetch a heavy price tonight."

"Aliyah is thinking of writing a book on Mystic Falls." Carol told Damon, excitedly.

"Oh," Damon's eyes widened and he stared at her, calculatedly. "What's the book about?"

"Oh, just about the upholding of small-town traditions." Aliyah shrugged. "I've never seen a town so dedicated to its history before."

Carol smiled at her and placed a hand on her arm. "You'll just have to wait and see our Founder's Day celebration. It's truly magnificent."

"I can't wait." Aliyah said, cheerfully. She turned to Damon and cocked her head, a wicked light entering her eyes. "So, tell me, Damon, what've you got planned for the lucky lady who wins you tonight?"

Damon shrugged. "I've got the big date planned. It's a romantic dinner, secluded spot somewhere woodsy."

Carol laughed a fake laugh. "You're making me think I should buy a ticket."

A sly smirk formed on Damon's lips. "Well, you are in charge. You could always rig it."

Aliyah smiled, softly, at Carol. "If you'll excuse me, I think I'll go and buy a ticket."

She excused herself and made her way to a blonde girl, seated at a table.

"Hello, I'd like to buy a ticket." Aliyah said, with a smile.

"No problem." The girl said, cheerfully.

Aliyah handed the girl a crisp fifty-dollar note. "Just give me however many tickets that'll buy."

The girl handed her the tickets with a beaming smile and that was when she noticed the name tag on her breast, reading 'Caroline Forbes'.

"Oh, you're Caroline." Aliyah said, stunned.

Caroline's brow furrowed. "I'm sorry, do I know you?" She asked, carefully, her smile faltering.

"Oh, sorry, we've only spoken a few times on the phone." She reached out her hand for Caroline to shake. "I'm Aliyah, Bonnie's cousin."

Realisation dawned in Caroline's eyes and she squeaked. "Oh, no way! Wow, you don't really look like her." She pointed out. "Is she here with you?" Her eyes searched for a tell-tale sign of her best friend.

Aliyah shrugged. "Genetics. It's a mystery. And, sorry, she wasn't up to it tonight."

"How's Bonnie doing? I try and call her every day, but do you know if she'll be coming back to school anytime soon?"

Aliyah narrowed her eyes at the necklace around Caroline's neck and grimaced, knowing that she couldn't compel her. "She's still coming to terms with everything, but she's getting better. She's a strong girl. She'll be back on her feet in no time."

Caroline smiled, beatifically. Aliyah remembered how Bonnie had told her about the complex the girl had. How she always felt like she came second to Elena. Aliyah resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Petrova doppelgangers always did have the ability to make people feel inferior. Tatia had tried it with her, and had failed miserably, but had managed it with Rebekah. She remembered how many times Rebekah had sobbed in her arms about the way that Tatia had encouraged the other girls in the village to treat her, all because of the fact that Rebekah was a burgeoning witch.

"Thanks for all of your concern, Caroline. I know it means a lot to Bonnie to have her friends right there if she needs them." Aliyah said, gently.

Caroline shrugged. "Bonnie's always been there for me. I should be there for her." She said, sweetly.

"I'll see you later, Caroline." Aliyah smiled and took the tickets off her. "I'm sure I'll be seeing your around."

* * *

><p>"Hello, Elena." Aliyah approached the young brunette girl.<p>

Elena stumbled when she saw the much older vampire. "Oh, Aliyah… hi." She frowned. "What are _you_ doing here?" She asked, suspiciously.

Aliyah smiled, radiantly. "Carol Lockwood invited me here as her special guest."

"Why?"

"Well, I am writing a book on Mystic Falls. It would be remiss if she didn't invite me everywhere that would give me a good view on Mystic Falls, don't you think?" She said, innocently.

Elena's brow furrowed. "You're writing a _book_ on Mystic Falls?"

Aliyah winked at her. "How are you doing, Elena?"

"Who are you, Aliyah?" Elena snapped, tired of being left in the dark.

Aliyah laughed. "I'm someone who is much older than your Salvatore brothers and who has no qualms about tearing your limbs off, little girl. Watch your tone with me. I told you that night in the bar that I meant you no harm and I mean it still, and that means 'don't push me'. Don't get involved in things beyond you, darling." She said, warningly, and turned to face the stage, just as Carol approached Damon.

"And last, but not least, Damon Salvatore. We don't have much on you." Carol told Damon with a smile.

Stefan approached Elena from the entrance. Elena spotted him and waved from her position at a table with Aliyah. Stefan smiled back, waved, then looked back at the stage.

Damon shrugged. "Well, I'm tough to fit on a card."

"Do you have any hobbies, like to travel?" Carol asked.

A smile formed on Damon's face. "Oh, yeah. L.A., New York. Couple of years ago, I was in North Carolina. Near the Duke campus, actually. I think-I think Alaric went to school there. Didn't you, Ric?" He turned to look at Alaric the same time Alaric did the same, a taunting smile on his lips. "Yeah, 'cause I-I know your wife did."

Aliyah watched with interest as Elena's face started to falter and tears started to form in her eyes.

"I had a drink with her once. She was-she was a great girl. I ever tell you that? Cause she was. Delicious. Mmm! Mmm mmm mmm." Damon had the audacity to lick his lips.

Elena's mouth hung open and her eyes filled with tears as she stared at Damon.

A pang struck Aliyah in the stomach, making her wince as she remembered that Elena was just a teenage girl who found herself in things beyond the scope of her existence. She scowled at Damon. She didn't think much of the doppelganger, but to taunt someone like that, to be so cruel, this is what she hated about her existence. They were vampires, they didn't have to be monsters.

Aliyah sighed.

_Great._

She grasped Elena's arm. "Come with me. I think you need some air." She muttered, shooting Stefan a meaningful look as she pushed past him, leading Elena out of the Grill.

Elena paced around once she got out into the open air, while Aliyah leaned against a pole, watching as Stefan exited the Grill and approached Elena, who turned to face him.

"Your brother's a real piece of work." Aliyah commented, looking down at her nails.

Stefan simply glared at her and she raised an eyebrow. He turned to Elena. "Elena." He didn't know what to say to her.

"He killed her? Damon was the vampire that killed her?" Elena bit out the question.

Stefan shook his head. "I don't know what happened. Alaric said that they never found the body."

"You should probably take that as a yes." Aliyah offered.

"Oh, my god. Stefan." Elena whispered.

"I know. I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you. But I just—I wanted to know more." Stefan explained.

Elena shook her head in disbelief. "I was feeling sorry for him, hoping that this whole Katherine thing would change him. I'm so stupid." She said, bitterly.

Stefan shook his head. "He doesn't know about the connection to you. I thought about confronting him, but he's already so on edge."

"Why are you protecting him?" Elena snapped.

"Because you're not the only one hoping that he might actually change."

Aliyah's eyes snapped open when she felt the telltale sign that someone was watching them, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end. She frowned and searched the street and saw a strange man down the street, watching Elena carefully.

"Go inside, both of you. Now." She said, her voice brooking no argument, her limbs tensing with the anticipation of a fight.

"What?" Elena looked at her, confused.

"Go inside. Now." She snapped.

Stefan gently pushed Elena back inside the Grill and Aliyah soon followed, shooting the strange man a suspicious look. Stefan and Elena went to sit at a table Jenna was already seated at, the latter shooting Aliyah a friendly wave as she passed by them, going over to the bar.

On her way, she saw a middle-aged woman, who was wearing entirely too much makeup, approach Caroline at the prize table.

"Congratulations, Mrs. Donovan." Caroline said, cheerfully.

"Okay, just stop. Stop trying so hard. This thing you're doing, this nice thing, it's fake. Like you. Like your mom. And for some reason, Matt fell for it, but that doesn't mean that I will. I don't like you, okay? So tell plumber boy I'll be at the bar." Mrs Donovan snapped and walked off.

"Okay." Caroline said, hurt.

Aliyah felt that familiar protective urge coil inside her stomach.

_Oh, great, I'm becoming a mom. First Bonnie, now Caroline. I hate this._

She slipped over to the prize table and handed Caroline, surreptitiously, a glass of scotch. Caroline looked up at her, curiously.

"You look like you need it." Aliyah shrugged. "Drink and be merry. That's my motto."

Caroline laughed under her breath. "Don't want to be the cautionary tale at the next town meeting, and my mom's the sheriff."

Aliyah winked. "I won't tell if you don't." She pressed the glass into Caroline's hand and smirked as the girl took a large gulp of the burning liquid.

Caroline wiped her lips, delicately, and smiled, hesitantly, the smile growing when she saw Aliyah's warm grin.

"Let me guess, boyfriend's mother?" Aliyah raised an eyebrow.

Caroline nodded, sadly. "I just want her to like me."

"That's a useless endeavour, darling." Aliyah told her, sincerely. "Mothers have a way of pre-deciding who exactly is perfect for their sons, and if you aren't that, you're worthless in their eyes. My mother-in-law hated my guts till the day she died because she didn't think I was the right one for her son." _Or sons._

Aliyah tipped her own glass and clinked it against Caroline's, the two of them draining the scotch in one swallow and smiling at each other. Aliyah's eyes were suddenly drawn to a escalating argument between Stefan, Damon and Elena, and she watched as Elena stormed out of the Grill, ramming into Damon's shoulder as she did so. She didn't like the doppelganger, but she hated Damon Salvatore even more.

"I'll talk to you later, Caroline." Aliyah smiled, warmly, at the young blonde girl and went after Elena and Stefan, worried about the man who had been staring at them.

She walked out into the cold night air to find the man from earlier standing right in front of Elena and Stefan, the latter standing in front of the former so as to protect her.

"I have a message for you." Aliyah heard the man say.

"What?" Elena asked, confused.

"Who are you?" Stefan snapped.

"Stop looking."

"Stop looking for what?" Elena asked.

"She doesn't want to know you. She doesn't want to talk to you."

"Isobel?" Realisation dawned in Elena's eyes.

"You need to stop looking. Do you understand?"

"She's alive?" Elena's eyes widened. "Does that mean she's a-" She started to inch forwards, but Stefan put his arm back to keep her behind him.

Aliyah wondered if this girl had a death wish.

_If she does, I could give it to her._

"Elena, he's under compulsion." Stefan warned.

"Do you understand?" The man asked, sharply.

Elena nodded. "Yes. I do."

"Good." The man said and looked down the street. "I'm done now."

The man stepped backwards into the road and in the way of an oncoming large truck. The truck blared its horn and ran smack dab into him, killing him, instantly. Elena and Stefan would've fallen into the road and been struck as well, had Aliyah not pulled them back at the last moment.

"I told you to keep her safe." Aliyah growled. "What the hell have you been doing?"

_At least it wasn't Niklaus or Elijah who sent the man. You don't have to get involved in the doppelganger's family issues. _

And, in the next moment, she was gone.

Elena, shocked, grabbed Stefan, staring at the empty space where the man used to be with horror. Stefan knelt down and looks at the man and Elena saw a phone that must have fallen out of the man's pocket and picked it up, pocketing it. Stefan quickly stood up, his eyes searching for anyone who might have seen what had happened, and grabbed Elena's arm.

"Come on. Let's get out of here. Come on." Stefan urged Elena and dragged her off.

* * *

><p>She was stunned when she met Stefan right outside her apartment, but she could see her compulsion working through him.<p>

"Any reason why you're stalking me, broody?" Aliyah smirked.

"Alaric." That was all Stefan was able to say.

Aliyah cocked her head. "What about him?"

"Alaric attacked Damon with a stake because he turned Isobel. Damon killed him and he just came back to life."

Aliyah paused. "He had vampire blood in him, then. He's going through the transition. You should probably take care of that." She made to walk back into her apartment.

"He didn't have vampire blood in him. But he had this ring on him. He told me Isobel gave it to him and told him that the ring would protect him." Stefan told her.

Aliyah's narrowed her eyes. She pursed her lips. She spun around and walked up to him, easily compelling him for a second time that day. "You will tell me anything else you find out about this."

* * *

><p>"<em>Hey, Bonnie, it's me just checking in, seeing how you're doing. We miss you here. Don't let your aunt drive you too crazy.<em>"

"I think she misses you." Aliyah commented, softly, staring at the way Bonnie's face seem to twist hearing Elena's latest voicemail. She bit her lip. "Is that why you didn't want to come with me tonight?"

"I couldn't see her." Bonnie said, hoarsely. "I'll get angry and resentful and…"

"She's your friend, Bonnie. You'll have to see her sometime." Aliyah pointed out, gently.

"I know." Bonnie said, her voice small and weary. "I'm so lost, Ali, what do I do?" She whispered.

Aliyah pursed her lips and sat down next to Bonnie on her bed. She wrapped her arms around Bonnie's small form and pulled her into an embrace, Bonnie resting her head on Aliyah's shoulder. Aliyah stroked her hair, while Bonnie sobbed into her shoulder.

"I just want my Grams back, Ali. I _really_ want her back." She whispered.

"I know." Aliyah murmured.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN**_: Well, I was a bit unsure of the way I approached this chapter, but I hope I did it justice. I hope you like the Bonliyah and growing Caroliyah that I worked in this chapter. I think Bonnie and Caroline would be good for Aliyah as far as friendship goes. And we finally got some Original compulsion in this chapter. Aliyah's quite the mastermind. She has her very own spies in Mystic Falls and she managed to integrate herself into Mystic Falls society with a breeze.

I hope you guys liked the flashback in this chapter, I haven't done any of the heavy bits of Klaus and Aliyah's relationship yet, but there are quite a few. And I wonder who was Aliyah's first husband. There will be just a bit drama concerning that in this story.

By the way, are there any pairings that you guys would like to see in this story, maybe a romance for Aliyah before Klaus comes into the story, any other pairings with Caroline and Bonnie?

Anyway, hope you all liked the story and don't forget to review!


	4. Let The Right One In

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Vampire Diaries in any shape or form. But I do own my OC._

_**A/N**__: This one will start off at the end of There Goes the Neighbourhood and continue on into Let the Right One In._

_**Reviews**__:_

NicoleR85: I'm glad you like their relationship. I can't wait until Katherine, Elijah and Klaus show up either, that's when all the good stuff starts.

Elena hater: I think I'll go along with TVD storyline until around Season 3 and then diverge, but still have some elements of Season 4. The Originals should also be different, I have my own plan for it, but it also depends on what kind of role you guys would want Hayley to have. I plan on having Bonnie join Aliyah in New Orleans because I want them to be like sisters. I don't think I'd ship Bonnie with Elijah (although I love that pairing on its own) because of some stuff that will be revealed when Elijah gets here. I feel like Bonnie/Kol has been done to death, so right now I was thinking either Finn or Tyler for Bonnie. I rather like Kol with Davina as well, so I might keep it like that or change it. With the stuff that happens in New Orleans, I don't think Bonnie would be with someone like Marcel, especially if he plans on taking Aliyah down, so I'm not really sure about that pairing.

Skyeward MusicLover: Thank you so much!

HAPPYS WIFE QUINNS DAUGHTER: I refuse to say right now, but it will all be revealed soon.

tate4eva: Thank you so much! I felt like that was a huge hole in the story. Damon basically raped and abused Caroline for weeks and suddenly it's okay for Elena to date him. Damon never even apologised for what he did to her. And Elena just kept defending her relationship with him and she even had the nerve to go off at Caroline for disagreeing with her. I mean, Damon's done so much crap throughout the series and it was like Elena just forgave him for all of that. And I wanted Aliyah to be totally against the misuse of compulsion for those kind of reasons. I won't reveal who Aliyah's first husband was, but I think people pretty much guessed it. It will all be revealed soon.

Guest: Again, I refuse to reveal what it is, but it is interesting to know your theories.

**Stormdancer**

**Chapter 4**

**There Goes the Neighbourhood/Let the Right One In**

"Well, fancy seeing you here."

Aliyah grimaced and saw a familiar smirking face and she pointedly turned away, returning to her glass of scotch.

"Not really." Aliyah grumbled. "This place is the only bar that this Podunk town has, so I'm stuck here." She paused. "I should just drink at home."

She pushed herself off her the bar stool and made to leave the Grill when Damon pushed himself forward so that he was standing in front of her. She raised an eyebrow.

"Do we really wanna do this now?" Aliyah stepped forwards so that her alcohol-laced breath could graze over his face. "How many more of your bones do I have to break before you understand 'don't fuck with me'?" She whispered, her hand reaching up and scraping her nails through his dark waves.

"Well, we could always just settle this burgeoning sexual tension between us." Damon suggested. "Meet me back at my place for a drink?"

Aliyah threw her head back and laughed, loudly, drawing quite a few glances from other patrons in the bar.

"I have centuries on you, _little boy_. Don't push me." She warned, smiling innocently, looking to every other customer as a sweet young woman enjoying the attentions of a man. "I have absolutely no qualms about ripping your head _right_ off. You exist because I want you to exist. The second you cease to become of use to me is the second I will rip your heart out of your chest." She bit her lip. "So, if that's everything, I think I'll just go." She pushed past him.

"Actually, there is something." Damon called out and she stilled, turning around and looking at him, sceptically. "I have no idea why I'm telling you any of this…"

Aliyah guessed the compulsion was working at full force and hid a smirk. Now she knew exactly why Niklaus chose to be a master manipulator. It was so much fun being the puppet master. It had a sense of thrill and control that was impossible to find anywhere else. And for people like her and Niklaus, control was everything.

"Funny how these things come to us." Aliyah shrugged. "What is it you want to tell me?"

"One of the tomb vampires came to see me. Her name's Pearl Zhu. She owned an apothecary back in 1864 and she was Katherine's best friend. She told me that she, her daughter Anna, and the other tomb vampires who didn't leave Mystic Falls were staying in a farmhouse outside Mystic Falls. She wanted me to tell her about the Founders' Council and whom I've supplied vervain to. She wants to take back the town and rebuild it like the way it was in 1864." Damon said in a rush, his eyes glazing over momentarily.

Aliyah bit into the pink flesh of her lower lip, thinking through everything that Damon had just revealed to her.

"Don't worry, Damon. I'll take care of the tomb vampires." Aliyah hummed, twisting a curl between her fingers and pinning it behind her ear. "Thanks for the Intel."

She strode past him and walked out the doors of the Grill, her hips swaying.

* * *

><p>"So, the tomb vampires are definitely out?" Bonnie asked, leaning back against the headboard of her bed.<p>

"Yep, apparently, a bunch of them are shacked up in some farmhouse just out of town. And they've even instated a leader. Her name's Pearl and she was Katherine's best friend back in 1864." Aliyah crossed her legs on the chair she was sitting on.

"Anything else I missed?" Bonnie asked, dryly.

"What, you mean in your quest to become one of the Halliwell sisters?" Aliyah asked, innocently, and laughed when she ducked the pillow that Bonnie sent flying at her with her magic.

"Ugh, you watch Charmed?" Bonnie grimaced.

Aliyah shrugged. "I'm old, Bonnie girl. I watch a lot of things. I listen to a lot of music. When you're old, you've got to have hobbies, otherwise you'll go insane." She paused. "Actually, you missed a lot." She looked sheepish. "Probably should've told you sooner, but a lot of it completely slipped my mind."

"What?" Bonnie frowned and sat up on her knees.

"Well, apparently your friend, Elena… she's adopted and she found out who her birth mother is. Her name's Isobel Flemming. And she was Alaric's wife, until Damon of all vampires turned her."

Bonnie paused. "Is it strange that the only thing I get out of what you just told me is that Elena has the weirdest family tree ever?"

"To be fair, you're just as connected as she is. You're best friends with a girl who's the exact double as a vampire who tricked two boys into falling in love with her, turned them and left them for dead in 1864. Said vampire boys came back and one of them started dating your best friend and the other apparently made a deal with your witch ancestor back in 1864. You're related to me, and I've known Emily, Katherine, Damon, and Stefan."

_And that's just the stuff I've told you. I wonder how you'll react when I tell you about my mother, Esther, Niklaus, Elijah, Rebekah, Kol and Finn, and all of their connections to your friends in Mystic Falls._

Bonnie paused. "Okay, fine, I'll give you that." She looked a little shamefaced that her reaction to her friend's family problems. "I'm a bad person, aren't I? I'm not this person."

Aliyah sighed. "What kind of person?" She asked, gently.

"Elena's my best friend. I should feel for her, shouldn't I?" Bonnie whispered. "She's going through a hard time. Finding out that you're adopted and finding out who you're birth mother is. She must be hurting. I should be there for her."

"But you can't be there for her completely until you've sorted yourself out." Aliyah pointed out, bluntly.

"She's my best friend!" Bonnie protested.

Aliyah exhaled. "Can I be absolutely honest with you without you flying off the handle?"

Bonnie nodded.

"I'm not a huge fan of Elena." Aliyah murmured. "I haven't exactly made a secret of that. I don't hate her. Frankly, I don't think she's worth my hatred." She waved off Bonnie's offended look. "But I can sympathise with her. I know what it's like to have your world turned upside down in a short time. To feel completely lost and completely alone, and I can assure you, that is what Elena is feeling right now. I commend your loyalty to your friends, Bonnie. It's a great quality that you have, but you need to be able to let go of your resentment and anger before you can be there for her. You're angry and you feel betrayed. You have every right to feel like that. I mean, Elena _is_ walking around with Stefan and Damon as if nothing happened, and you're allowed to be angry about that."

Bonnie's face fell as she realised the extent to which Elena had been able to go on with her life without feeling the slightest bit guilt for what had happened to her Grams.

"Bonnie, I'm not trying to hurt you more than you've been hurt." Aliyah stood up and walked over to sit beside Bonnie on the bed. "I care about you a great deal, Bonnie. I just want you to be careful around people. You're young, you don't realise that people can be selfish sometimes. People are very good at protecting what they love. I'm sure you know that better than anyone. I don't want you to get hurt." She whispered, laying one of her hands on Bonnie's.

"She's still my best friend." Bonnie said, weakly.

"She doesn't have to stop." Aliyah shrugged. "I just don't want you to invest too much in a relationship that may come back and bite you in the arse." She told her, lightly. She shook her head. "Okay, a lot of other things happened. So, Damon was a bachelor in last night's Bachelor's Raffle, and I think Carol Lockwood won him. Um, some guy came up to Elena last night and warned her to stop looking for Isobel. She had obviously compelled the guy and he ran himself into a truck, so that chapter was closed."

"Sometimes I forget how blasé you can be about people dying." Bonnie said, reproachfully.

Aliyah shrugged. She smiled, sadly. "Bonnie girl, I'm a vampire. Death is a part of my life, whether I want it to be or not." She pursed her lips. "There was a time in my life, when I first transitioned, that I felt for every person that died. I hurt when someone died, and I'd curl up into a little ball every time I killed someone out of my bloodlust. After awhile, I had to become hard against death, otherwise I knew I wouldn't survive the rest of eternity being what I am." Her voice lowered, almost pleading for Bonnie to understand. "I have to be this way, Bonnie. Otherwise I can't survive."

Bonnie squeezed her hand. "So," She cleared her throat. "Anything else happen that you haven't told me about."

"Caroline asked me about you." Aliyah said, softly. "Poor thing, her boyfriend's mother went off at her for no reason. She seems like a sweet little thing, if not a bit insecure."

Bonnie's eyes lowered. "She's called me every single day. She's been such a good friend. Maybe I do take her for granted." She whispered.

"So, make it better." Aliyah chided, gently. "Stop feeling sorry for yourself for what's happened in the past, and make everything better. Be a better friend to Caroline, fix your friendship with Elena. You're young, darling, you have all the time in the world."

Bonnie leaned over and threw her arms around Aliyah, ignoring the sick feeling she got in her stomach the moment that her skin touched Aliyah's. She buried her face in the older woman's dark curls, inhaling the smell of the jasmine and rose scent of her perfume on her warm, toffee-coloured skin.

"Oof!" Aliyah breathed the second that Bonnie wrapped her arms around her. She slipped her arms around Bonnie's waist and patted her on the back, stroking the ends of her hair with her fingers.

"Thank you." Bonnie said, her voice muffled by Aliyah's long locks. "I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't kept me from wallowing in my own grief."

"No problem, Bonnie girl." Aliyah murmured. "I'm glad I got the chance to meet you." She said, sincerely.

"Me too." Bonnie whispered. She pulled back and wiped the tears off her cheek, haphazardly. "Anything else you haven't told me?" She asked, her voice slightly hoarse from emotion.

Aliyah looked thoughtful. "I'm pretty sure that was all that happened." She rubbed the back of her neck. "If anything else happens, I'll be sure to let you know."

Bonnie sighed. "I need a vampire."

"Okay." Aliyah said, slowly and confused. "I'm right here, but forget that for a moment, _why_ exactly do you need a vampire?"

"I need to practice the aneurism spell." Bonnie told her, softly. "And I can't use it on you, because it won't work. So, I need another vampire to practice on."

"Look at you, Bonnie girl, dabbling in vampire experimentation." A smile grew on Aliyah's pink lips. "I've never been more prouder than you." She said, triumphantly.

Bonnie grinned, sheepishly. "Why do you have to insult me?" She asked, dryly.

Aliyah shrugged. "What can I say, it's part of my charm." She paused. "Are you sure you can do the aneurism spell, Bonnie?" She asked, worriedly. "I don't want you to get in over your head."

Bonnie nodded, confidently. "I have to try it out." She told her. "I need some practice, or I'll never be able to get it to work." She smiled to herself. "But I have been practicing. I can do more things now. Come with me." She grabbed onto Aliyah's hand and dragged her form the bedroom.

* * *

><p>Bonnie laid a map of Mystic Falls out on the dinner table.<p>

"I'm gonna need your blood." She told Aliyah. "For the spell to work."

Aliyah nodded and raised her wrist to her lips. Bonnie winced when she heard the sound of teeth tearing into flesh and Aliyah threw her wrist out, letting the blood pool in a corner of the map.

Bonnie took a deep breath, her fingers curling around the edges of the dinner table.

"_Phasmatos Tribum Nas Ex Veras Sequita Saguines Ementas Asten Mihan Ega Petous." _Bonnie hummed.

The blood that had pooled on the map started to flow in a singular line to reach the point on the map where Aliyah's apartment was located.

Aliyah laughed in disbelief and wrapped her arms around Bonnie. "Wow, Bonnie girl, that was amazing. You managed to do a locator spell much more quickly that I imagined you would be."

"I can do other things too." Bonnie moved and grabbed a pot plant that was sitting on the windowsill. She placed it on the table and closed her eyes, concentrating. "_Phasmatos Tribum, Melan Veras. Phasmatos Tribum, Melan Veras._" And the small budding flowers in the pot began to bloom into beautiful white roses.

Aliyah fingered the petals of the roses and she smiled, fondly. "That's lovely, Bonnie, it truly is. I'm so proud of you, darling. You're growing so much." She murmured.

Bonnie looked up at her with bright eyes and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Thank you for helping me, Aliyah. All of the grimoires that you collected really helped, and you've been right there with me. Thank you so much." She said, softly.

Aliyah laughed, softly. "Darling, don't worry about it. I'm glad I got the chance to help you out with all of this. A witch needs someone to be there for her at your age for guidance." Her face fell. "Your grandmother should have been there for you. She would have helped you so much more than I can, an ex-witch turned vampire." A familiar self-hatred bled into her voice, tinging her eyes with pain and anger, before she was able to recover. "But I'm not trying to replace her. I just want to help you."

"You are helping me." Bonnie said, sincerely. "I know that you're a vampire, and I'm still not fully sure I can trust you. But you've done nothing to show me that you mean me any harm. And I think I really needed the distraction that you've provided me. Otherwise I would've gone mad thinking about my Grams. You're my friend, Ali, and I'm glad I got the chance to meet you." She murmured.

"Come on, why don't we eat some food and watch a movie." Aliyah suggested. "It's been awhile since I watched a decent rom-com."

* * *

><p>That night, after Bonnie had fallen asleep to the sounds of <em>When Harry Met Sally<em>, Aliyah left the apartment, making sure that it was locked properly and that no one was following her, as she made her way to the Mystic Grill. She tugged on her pink blazer, smoothing down the fabric of her teal shirt and looking down at her white shorts, her sandals snapping against the gravel of the road, as she approached the Grill.

It was at the entrance where she spotted Jenna, walking out by herself. Aliyah watched as the woman stumbled, her heel breaking against the footpath, and she tensed when she saw an unfamiliar man approach Jenna.

"Need some help?" She heard the man ask Jenna.

"Damn it! Stupid shoe." Jenna muttered.

"Pick up your other foot." The man told Jenna and he broke the hell on that foot, handing the shoe back over to Jenna. "Here you go."

"Thanks," Jenna frowned. "I think."

"Was that Damon Salvatore you were with?" The man asked, carefully, and Aliyah immediately knew that he was one of the tomb vampires.

"The one and only. You know him?" Jenna asked, curiously.

"We go way back. He still live out by Miller Lane?"

Jenna shook his head. "He lives in the old boarding house by Wickery Bridge. He's still in there if you want to say hi." She offered.

The man smirked, a charming smile on his lips. "I prefer to stay here and talk to you."

Jenna laughed, slightly. "Oh, nice. Very smooth with the shoe and the flirt. But, I'm a little drunk and a guy plus drunk me equals very bad things."

Aliyah tensed when she saw Frederick touch Jenna's face and attempt to compel her, but then she remembered that Stefan had told her that he had given Jenna a perfume infused with vervain. Even if Jenna couldn't be compelled, the tomb vampire couldn't be trusted not to just take a bite out of the woman. And Aliyah actually liked Jenna. A sincere woman in this day and age, it was hard to come by.

"I'm pretty sure you'd like it." The tomb vampire smirked.

In a moment, Aliyah was standing right behind the tomb vampire. She placed a fierce hand on the man's shoulder and spun him around to face her. She leaned in and let her compulsion ring true.

"I'm pretty sure you'd like to walk away now." She purred.

"I'm pretty sure I'd like to walk away now." The tomb vampire said, blankly, and turned in the other direction.

Aliyah cocked her head when she saw a young woman appear next to the tomb vampire and lead him away, guessing that she was another vampire.

Jenna stared at his retreating figure and turned back to Aliyah, laughing softly.

"What was with him?" Jenna shook her head in disbelief. "Thanks for that, by the way."

Aliyah shrugged. "Some guys are just nuts." She smiled at her. "No problem. How are you, Jenna?"

"Not bad, you?" Jenna beamed at her, slurring her words slightly.

"I think you're a little drunk." She winked at her. "I was just gonna get a drink myself." She said, gesturing to the Grill.

"Why don't you come over to my place?" Jenna asked, shrugging. "I've got scotch, bourbon, vodka, peppermint schnapps… everything we need to have a good time." She grinned.

Aliyah's eyes widened at the invitation. "Oh, sure, I'd love to." She said, not being able to think of the last time someone had invited her home for a drink.

"And there's a cab…" Jenna gestured. "Come on."

* * *

><p>Jenna stumbled over to the porch, Aliyah steadying her as they came up to the threshold. Aliyah paused at the entrance to the door.<p>

"Hey, don't stand on ceremony, come on in!" Jenna slurred, stumbling towards the kitchen.

Aliyah smiled and stepped over the threshold, following Jenna to the kitchen, where Elena's younger brother, Jeremy, and young girl were standing. From her vantage point from the entrance, she could see that the girl had Jeremy's wrist raised to her lips, drinking down the blood fervently.

_Great, another vampire._

Jeremy rushed over from the girl over to Jenna, looking over at her curiously, before turning his attention back to her aunt.

"Jenna! Hey, what's up?"

"Nothing, we're just gonna have a drink in the lounge." Jenna said, snatching a bottle of peppermint schnapps and two glasses from the kitchen. She noticed the blank look that was on Jeremy's face when he saw Aliyah. "Oh, right, Jeremy, this is Bonnie's cousin, Aliyah."

Aliyah smiled and reached out her hand. "Hi, Jeremy, it's nice to meet you." She looked down at his wrist, which was still sliced up from the vampire girl's fangs. "Ooh, that looks like a bad cut."

"Yeah, I was chopping something. Got the knife a little wrong." Jeremy laughed off, nervously.

"We'll be in the lounge, Jeremy, if you need anything." Jenna told Jeremy and dragged Aliyah over to the couch, pouring a generous amount of the alcohol in both glasses.

* * *

><p>It was much later when she heard sounds coming from the Salvatore Boarding House. She had tracked the tomb vampire and his female companion after the bar, watching as they arrived at the boarding house, intent of causing pain to the two vampires that had been responsible for them being trapped inside the tomb for over a century.<p>

Aliyah rolled her eyes and walked inside and watched as the man jumped through the window, jumping onto Stefan and stabbing him with a piece of glass that was on the floor. Damon pushed him off Stefan and started to fight with their assailant himself, while Stefan removed the piece of glass. The woman arrived and began to trade blows with Stefan. She pushed him to the floor and was about to snap his neck when Aliyah appeared in front of her, ripped a wooden leg off a chair and stabbed her a few inches away from her heart. She collapsed to the floor and Aliyah grabbed her by the arm and by the waist, tossing her over her shoulder.

She turned around to see Damon throwing the tomb vampire across the living room. He looks at Damon and Stefan and Aliyah and then his gaze fell to his female friend, who he thought was dead. He rushed out of the boarding house and Stefan looked at Aliyah, perplexed.

"Don't say I never did anything for you." Aliyah shrugged.

"Why did you help us?" Stefan asked, pushing himself off the floor.

"Because I need Elena safe, and to be honest, if I'm near her, I'm just going to have urges to rip her head right off… so you two are the best men for the position." She said, cheerfully. "If I let you die, I would have to do it myself and I hate doing that. I much prefer it with me as the queen on the chessboard and you both as my pawns." She told them.

Stefan chose to ignore the comment and turned to Damon. "I remember them from 1864. They were in the tomb."

"Well, they're really not." Aliyah pointed out. She smirked at Damon. "Looks like big brother hasn't exactly been as forthcoming with you as he has been with me." She said, innocently, and then she was gone, the body of the second tomb vampire hauled over her shoulders.

* * *

><p>"I brought gifts!" Aliyah called out, striding through the apartment.<p>

"Why do you have a dead vampire slung over your shoulders?" Bonnie asked, slowly, from behind her.

She dropped the body of the tomb vampire, unceremoniously, on the floor.

"What? You said you needed a vampire. Voila!" She gestured, emphatically, to the vampire that was currently waking up. Aliyah reached down and ripped the stake from her chest, drawing a hoarse scream from the vampire. She patted the vampire's cheeks. "Wakey wakey."

The vampire's eyes drifted open and she looked at her new surroundings with fright. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"Don't worry, darling." Aliyah smiled. "No one's gonna hurt you." She paused. "Well, actually, she is." She said, gesturing to Bonnie, who glared at her, momentarily. "You're going to be our little test subject." She smirked. She turned to Bonnie. "Ready, Bonnie girl?"

"I don't know if I can do this… I mean, torturing someone?" Bonnie said, nervously.

"Would it assuage some of that guilt to know that she was going to stake Stefan in the heart before I pulled her off him?" Aliyah offered.

Bonnie's eyes hardened. "Is she one of the tomb vampires?" She asked, harshly.

"Yep!" Aliyah said, cheerfully. "She's partly the reason why Sheila died, Bonnie girl. Have at it." She smirked and stepped back, knowing exactly what mentioning Sheila would do to Bonnie's mind, which was currently on the precipice of torturing the vampire.

Bonnie's shoulders slumped and the vampire in front of her took that as a weakness, lunging forwards, her fangs bared and ready to sink into the luscious flesh of Bonnie's neck, when she whimpered, sinking to the floor, clutching her heard. Bonnie's eyes opened and she stared with awe as the vampire cowered in front of her.

"Well, that was better than I expected." Aliyah pointed out. She walked over to Bonnie, circling the young witch. "Why don't you give it a bit more juice, Bonnie girl?"

Bonnie concentrated, her eyes fluttering shut, and the vampire began to scream in pain, twitching on the ground. Bonnie inhaled and the vampire's wails of pain died down, leaving her whimpering and clutching her head.

"Well, I think you'll have no problem taking a vampire down." Aliyah said, proudly. "I mean, if you can do this, you can pretty much take down all of the tomb vampires and Damon if you wanted to."

"Do you really think so?" Bonnie asked, uncertainly.

"Why don't you give it a couple more tries? Make yourself confident when doing it. You should be able to do it on the snap." Aliyah told her.

After a few more tries, Bonnie had successfully managed to wipe the floor with the tomb vampire on a number of occasions. In one particularly power-fuelled moment, the tomb vampire had been overcome with such a rush of anger that she had charged at Bonnie, intent on tearing her throat out. Before Aliyah could step in front of the young witch and tear the tomb vampire's head off, Bonnie had simply closed her eyes, calmly, and sent the vampire into screams, clutching onto her head, desperately.

Finally, Aliyah held a hand out and asked Bonnie to stop, saying that she had plenty of practice for today. She grabbed the stake off the floor and swung it with precision that it struck the tomb vampire's heart with deadly accuracy. The tomb vampire's mouth gaped with shock, as she began to desiccate, her skin turning grey and her veins rising.

"Wow." Bonnie's eyes widened with awe. "Can you teach me to aim like that?"

Aliyah laughed.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Aliyah was unpleasantly surprised to find Elena and Damon walking up to her in the middle of the town square, as she had just finished the grocery shopping for the week.<p>

"We have a problem." Damon said, bluntly.

Aliyah nodded. "How is that any concern of mine?" She asked, pointedly, moving to push past them.

"It's your concern because you promised us that you'd help us get rid of the tomb vampires." Elena told her.

Aliyah sighed. "So, what's wrong now?"

"It's Stefan. He's missing and we think the tomb vampires have him." Damon told her.

Aliyah let out a low growl. "You know, I made a deal to help you both with the tomb vampires, not to save your arse every time you find yourself in a bind." She said, lowly. Her shoulders slumped. "What can _I_ do? You told me that Pearl told you that they were all hiding out in some farmhouse. I can't get inside without an invitation, neither can you." She said, pointedly.

"I just need the muscle." Damon smirked. "It'd be good to have you on our side."

"So, do you have a plan, or are you just going to go in half-cocked? Because if the latter is your plan, don't let me stop you." She snarked.

"I'm planning a visit to the farmhouse. Mind joining me?" Damon smirked.

Aliyah resisted the urge to groan. "Oh, what the hell." She sent off a quick text message to Bonnie, telling her she'd be late and that more tomb vampire problems had come up, Bonnie texting her immediately, telling her to be careful.

* * *

><p>Damon knocked, furiously, on the door of the farmhouse, Aliyah standing a little behind him.<p>

"Pearl! Open this door. I swear to God I'll bust through and rip your head off." Damon shouted.

"Pearl's not home. Hmm. Beautiful weather. Not a ray of sun in the sky." The tomb vampire from earlier smirked.

"Where's my brother?" Damon growled.

"Billy." The tomb vampire growled.

Two vampires dragged Stefan into the hallway and into Damon's and Aliyah's view.

Damon's eyes hardened, his face set in stone, and Aliyah marvelled at the protectiveness the young vampire had over his little brother. For a moment, he even reminded her of Niklaus and at that moment, she missed her husband, fiercely, aching to have his arms wrapped around her, securely. She shut down on all of her emotions, though, and instead portrayed a beatific smile to Stefan's captors.

"You're dead." Damon said as though it was a fact. It didn't seem like a threat, more like a promise.

The tomb vampire smirked. "Whoa. I'm sorry. You two haven't been invited in. Miss Gibbons?" He called out and somewhat older, human lady walked into the entrance hall.

"Yes, Frederick, honey?" She asked, sweetly, having obviously been compelled by the vampires.

"Never let these bad people in." He ordered.

Stefan groaned in pain.

Frederick turned his gaze back to Damon, shooting Aliyah a suspicious and confused look. "145 years left starving in a tomb, thanks to Katherine's infatuation with you and your brother. First few weeks, every single nerve in your body screams with fire. The kind of pain that can drive a person mad. Well... I thought your brother might want to get a taste of that before I killed him. Billy."

Billy stabbed Stefan with a stake, making him roar with pain. Damon made to go inside, but Aliyah grabbed the back of his shirt, pulling him back, sending him a meaningful look that told him to keep his mouth shut and not do anything.

Frederick smiled. "You have a nice day."

And he shut the door in their faces.

Damon and Aliyah walked back all the way into the woods where Elena was sitting inside Damon's car. She saw them approaching and opened the car door, getting out.

"What happened? Where is he?" Elena asked, worriedly.

Aliyah raised an eyebrow. "Did you seriously think they'd let him go? Please don't tell me you're that naïve."

Damon glared at her and turned to Elena. "The woman who owns the house is compelled to not let us in."

"I can get in." Elena offered.

"You're not going in there." Damon said, slowly.

"I'm going!" Elena protested.

Aliyah scowled. "Are you seriously that stupid? Do you not understand what vampires are? Surely being around _this _psychopath taught you a few things." She said, gesturing to Damon. "Vampires kill humans, darling, and those specific vampires have a special bone to pick with your evil twin." She said, pointedly.

Elena scowled at her and shook her head. "Why are they doing this? What do they want with him?"

"Well," Aliyah drawled, determined to be as unhelpful as she possibly could. "I'm taking a wild guess here, but seeing as your Two Stooges over here, plus your Criminal Doppelganger, are the reason that those twenty-six vampires were trapped inside a tomb under a church for a hundred and forty-five years, because your boyfriends wanted to re-enact the world's worst romance movie ever... I'm fairly sure they have a right to be mad." She smirked when she saw identical, furious glares coming. "I was just saying." She tried to say, innocently.

"We have to do something." Elena said through gritted teeth.

Damon nodded. "I know."

"We can't let them hurt him. We gotta get him out of there." Elena protested.

"Well, there is someone we can use." Both of them turned to look at Aliyah.

"Bonnie." Elena nodded.

"What, no!" Aliyah snapped. "Contrary to your popular belief, Bonnie is _not_ here to save your arse every time one of you decides to get into something _you're_ not cut out for." She said, coldly. "If she wants to help you, that's a different case. But you _don't_ go to her and guilt trip her into helping you, got it?"

"And you suddenly care about Bonnie's wellbeing?" Elena scowled. "You haven't even _been _here for her entire life! _I_ have." She said, triumphantly.

"Yes, but at least I'm not screwing one guy who's responsible for my best friend's grandmother dying and making moon eyes at the other." Aliyah said, viciously.

Elena reeled back in shock and Aliyah watched with nonchalance as tears came to her eyes.

_Oh, great, here comes the waterworks._

"_Anyway_," Aliyah said, pointedly, "Before Elena decided to get all entitled, there is someone who can get inside the house and has the skill to rescue Stefan."

They both looked at her, blankly, not being able to guess who she meant.

Aliyah sighed.

_Morons._

* * *

><p>Alaric was walking down the hallway of Mystic Falls High School, when Damon and Aliyah appeared out of nowhere. Alaric stopped in his tracks, a slight fearful look entering his eyes, as he stared at Aliyah, dumbfounded. He wouldn't have guessed that the kind young woman that he had met in the Grill a few days ago would also be a vampire.<p>

"Well, don't you look... alive?" Damon said, grimacing.

"You can't hurt me." Alaric pointed out.

Damon smirked and took a step forward. "Oh, I can hurt you, all right."

Elena took a step forward, sensing that Damon was about to ruin everything. "Mr. Saltzman. We need your help." She pleaded.

All four of them walked into Alaric's classroom to talk.

"Stefan's in the house. Damon and Aliyah are vampires. They can't get in. We need you. I would go, but..." Elena trailed off.

"_Unfortunately_, her life is valuable." Aliyah said, bluntly, rolling her eyes, obviously not feeling that Elena's life was valuable.

_If I let her die now, Niklaus might just kill me. _She reminded herself.

"Yours, on the other hand…" Damon trailed off, smirking at Alaric.

"Stefan told me about your ring and Bonnie clarified a few things." Aliyah said to Alaric, quietly.

"What about the ring and why would Bonnie know about it?" Alaric asked, confused.

"Bonnie's ancestor was the one to place the spell on the ring to bring someone back from a supernatural death."

"So, let me recap… You tried to kill me. I defended myself. You died. Then according to my brother, your ring brought you back to life. Am I leaving anything out?" Damon asked, sarcastically.

"Yeah. The part where I try and kill you again. Only this time, I don't miss." Alaric snarled.

Aliyah smirked. "On any other day, I would pretty much hand you the stake, but right now, we actually need your help."

"This isn't my problem." Alaric shook his head.

"Please, Mr Saltzman. It's Stefan." Elena pleaded.

Aliyah clucked her tongue. "That's a shame, Alaric." She said, sweetly. "Because I can help you find your wife."

Alaric paled and Damon and Elena turned to look at her. "You're lying."

"Really?" Aliyah raised an eyebrow. "Do you have any idea how old I am? I have friends _all_ over the world, darling. All it would take is one phone call, and I could have Isobel Flemming's location at my fingertips."

"How do you know about Isobel?" Elena asked, sharply.

Aliyah smirked. "Again, darling, I've been around a long time. The second I found out that Bonnie was here, I decided to make it a point to learn everything that happens in Mystic Falls." She said, plainly.

Damon snorted. "Don't bother. He's a coward. Come on."

The three made to leave the classroom.

"All right!" Alaric growled, reluctantly. "Wait. I'll go."

Alaric moved over to the desk and pulled out his arsenal of vampire weapons.

"Teacher by day, vampire hunter by night." Damon muttered.

Aliyah paused and looked at Alaric. "You can shoot him any time you like." She winked, making him crack a smile.

Alaric looked at Damon. "I've you to thank for that."

"What are these?" Elena asked, peering at a few of the weapons.

"Those are tranquilizer darts filled with vervain."

Damon shrugged. "Just get me in. I'll get Stefan out."

"That's your plan? You're just gonna take them all on yourself?" Elena asked, sceptically.

"Well, I'll be a little stealthier than that, hopefully." Damon scoffed.

"I highly doubt that." Aliyah muttered.

Elena took a hold of one of the vervain darts.

Alaric's eyes widened and he made a move to stop her. "Whoa. What are you doing?" He asked, slowly.

"I'm going with you guys." Elena told them.

"No bloody way." Aliyah snapped. "I'm going to have to keep these two alive. I don't want to have to keep an eye on you as well."

"You need me. I'll get in. You could distract them, and then I'll get Stefan out."

"You'll get yourself killed. You're not going in there." Damon told her.

For once, Damon and Aliyah were in complete agreement with each other.

"I'm going." Elena said, stubbornly.

Damon turned to Alaric. "So, when you get us in, get out as quickly as you can. I know how to sneak around where they can't hear me. You'll basically just be in the way."

Elena scowled. "Damon, now is not the time to be the lone ranger."

"Fine. Elena, you can drive the getaway car. You're not going in the house." Damon swore.

Elena glared at him. "You can't stop me. It's Stefan we're talking about here. You don't understand."

Damon rolled his eyes, feeling a pang of jealousy hit him in his heart. "Oh, I understand. I understand. He's the reason you live. His love lifts you up where you belong. I get it."

"Can you just not joke around for 2 seconds?" Elena snapped.

"I can't protect you, Elena. I don't know how many vampires there are in there. That's how long it takes you to get your head ripped off. I have to be able to get in and get out. I can't be distracted with your safety. Or this will end up a bloodbath that none of us walk away from... including Stefan. I know. I get it. I understand." Damon said, sincerely, his eyes boring into Elena's.

Alaric and Aliyah exchanged a look and they both sighed.

"If we're gonna go, let's go." Alaric said.

* * *

><p>Alaric knocked on the door of the farmhouse, waiting patiently until someone answered the door. In this particular case, Frederick was the one to open the door.<p>

"Oh, good, someone's home. Uh, could I use your phone? My car broke down a few miles up the road. This was the first house I saw." Alaric said, sheepishly, hoping his act was enough.

"Well, lucky you." Frederick eyed Alaric.

Alaric shrugged. "Yeah. Lucky me. It's no trouble, is it?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Great. Whew." Alaric entered the house. "Hey, man, I really appreciate it. It's rough out there."

"Billy, show our visitor where the phone is in the kitchen. And get me something to drink." Frederick said.

"Yeah, sure thing." Billy said. He turned to Miss Gibbons. "Hey, Miss Gibbons, this guy wants to use your phone."

"Oh, sure, honey. It's right there."

Alaric smiled at her. "Thanks."

Alaric walked towards the phone, when Billy came at him with a stake. Alaric was too quick for him and grabbed the stake and stabbed him in the heart with it, making him scream in pain as he desiccated. Alaric turned on the blender as to create noise, so that no one would be attracted to the kitchen.

"What's happening?" Miss Gibbons asked.

"I'm really sorry. But you're gonna need to invite friends of mine inside." Alaric told her, and opened the door, revealing Damon and Aliyah standing outside.

"Oh, I'm sorry. They're not allowed in the house." Miss Gibbons said.

"I know that. But you've gotta make an exception." Alaric said, frustratedly.

Damon scowled at how slow this was going. "Get her out of the house. Now! Miss Gibbons, tell me the truth. Are you married?"

"No."

"Parents, children, anyone else who lives on this property?"

Miss Gibbons shook her head. "No. It's just me."

"No? Good." Damon smiled.

He reached out and broke her neck with one quick snap, allowing for him and Aliyah to enter the house.

Alaric glared at Damon, furiously. "You were supposed to compel her." He snarled.

"Compulsion doesn't work that way." Aliyah told him, gently. "You can't override another vampire's compulsion directly."

"She was human." Alaric protested.

Damon scowled. "And I'm not! So, I don't care. Now, get out of here. And get rid of the body!"

"Billy, what's the holdup?!" They heard Frederick call out.

Suddenly, the kitchen door opened and another vampire entered. Aliyah swung open the pantry door and stepped out. Her hand reached out, slamming into his chest, ignoring the sound of flesh tearing against the force of her hand, and gripped his heart in her first, tearing it from his chest in one strong pull and tossing it to the side. She watched the vampire in front of her crumple to the ground, her eyes not betraying a single emotion at the thought of him being dead.

"That was pretty cool." Damon murmured.

Aliyah shrugged. "I have a few tricks up my sleeve."

They moved in the direction of the cellar just in time to see Elena aim a syringe full of vervain at a man standing guard by a door at the end of the hallway. Before she could strike, Damon had already got to the man and staked him in the heart.

"Are you insane?" Aliyah hissed at Elena, fury colouring her face. Her eyes turned red and her fangs slipped out, which she bared at a terrified Elena. "Do you have absolutely no self-preservation whatsoever? What part of 'don't come with us, you will die' did you not understand?" She snapped.

She pushed past the girl – _the stupid, human girl_ – and she, Damon and Elena entered the cellar. Stefan lay in the middle of the room, his arms and legs bound by ropes soaked in vervain, as could be seen by the rings of singed flesh on Stefan's skin.

"Elena...You shouldn't be here..." Stefan said, weakly.

"She was supposed to stay in the car." Damon scowled at Elena. He aimed the stake at the man that accompanied Stefan in the cellar.

"Unh! No. No. No. Not him." Stefan told him.

Damon rolled his eyes at his brother's ability to be compassionate in the face of danger and pain. "Whatever. Let's get you down."

"There's vervain on the ropes."

Aliyah turned to Elena. "Remove the ropes." She said, sternly.

Stefan groaned as she did so.

"All right, let's go. Clothes on." Damon told Stefan.

"Wait." Stefan said, struggling to get to his feet.

"What? Guys, come on. We have to get out of here." Damon protested, while Stefan and Elena pulled the stakes out of the vampire's legs.

"Uh!" Stefan groaned.

"Come on, we have to get the hell out of here." Aliyah snapped.

"The other one." Stefan shook his head.

Aliyah turned to Damon. "Is your brother always such a goody-goody?"

Damon rolled his eyes. "You haven't even seen him at his worst." He turned to Stefan. "Can you get him in the car?"

"Yeah." Elena nodded.

"All right, go." Damon exchanged a look with Aliyah and she nodded, reluctantly.

"What about you two?" Elena asked, looking in between Aliyah and Damon.

"We'll be the distraction. Go." Aliyah told them.

Aliyah and Damon joined Alaric, who was still in the house, and the three made their way to the front door and stepped outside, watching as many more vampires approached.

"How many of those vervain darts do you have left?" Damon asked Alaric.

"One." Alaric answered, grimly.

"Not gonna be enough." Damon shook his head.

They watched as a middle-aged Chinese woman and the girl from the Gilbert house approached the farmhouse, leading the group of vampires.

"So, what you said to get me to do this, about my wife. It was a lie, wasn't it?" Alaric asked Aliyah.

Aliyah rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, hunter, I'll help you find your wife. You'll just have to give me some time to figure out where she is. Frankly, I think she's playing a very dirty game and she's the perfect leverage against a lot of people." She shrugged. _Especially Elena._

Pearl scowled at them. "Stop. What's going on here? What did you do?" Her eyes ran over all of them and stopped at Aliyah, her eyes widening as she recognised her. Her mouth opened to say something when she saw Aliyah's silent look to keep her mouth shut, and decided against it.

"Us?" Damon snorted. "Your merry little band of vampires spent the day torturing my brother."

"Trust me. The parties responsible for this will be dealt with."

Damon glared at her. "Trust me. The parties responsible for this will be dealt with."

"This wasn't supposed to happen." Pearl protested.

"Well, it did happen, darling." Aliyah purred. "If any of your brood try anything again, you _will_ answer to me." She said, coldly, and relished the way that Pearl seemed to pale in fear.

"If I had a good side... Not a way to get on it." Damon pointed out.

Aliyah, Alaric and Damon left.

* * *

><p>Aliyah returned to the farmhouse later, after making sure that no one was following her. She stepped inside the farmhouse and searched for Pearl and motioned for her to follow her outside. She turned around to face the Asian woman.<p>

"I assume you know who I am?" She asked, grimly.

"You're Aliyah Mikaelson. One of the Original vampires." Pearl said, knowingly. "Katherine told me about you. She said you've been searching for her for five hundred years."

"Well, not me, per se. My husband, on the other hand… he really does hate Katerina and he really does want her dead." Aliyah smirked. "But I can't let you going around telling people what I am. I prefer to keep it a secret for now." She reached out and gripped Pearl by the throat, pressing her against the wall. "You will not tell anyone what you know about me. You will only recognise me as someone older than yourself and you will not act against me. You will not mention to anyone that I am an Original vampire. You will keep quiet about anything you may know about my family and Katherine." She said, coldly, the compulsion working full force on the younger vampire.

She let Pearl go and watched as she sank to the ground, breathing heavily.

"Pleasure talking to you, Pearl. We should really do this again sometime."

* * *

><p>"Was it seriously that bad in the 1960s?" Bonnie asked, throwing a fistful of popcorn at the screen when Velma Von Tussle tried to seduce Wilbur Turnblad.<p>

"I was quite a few of those marches, myself." Aliyah commented. "I was dark and I wanted to fight for equality."

"Did you get caught by the police?" Bonnie asked, curiously.

Aliyah raised an eyebrow. "Bonnie girl, I'm a vampire, remember. I just ran when the police came, but it was real fun marching." She remembered those times, fondly. "I wanted to make a difference, and skin colour was such a stupid issue to be up in arms over. I mean, no one, back when I was human, looked at my mother or myself any differently than they would look at a white person." She shrugged. "I just thought it was stupid, but it wasn't like I could drain all the racist bastards, so I decided to do peaceful political protests." She said, triumphantly.

"I bet you were a total flower child." Bonnie teased.

"Ha, you know your lingo!" She crooned, proudly. "And yes I was. When you have all of time at your fingertips, you can't have stupid prejudices. They just make life small in the long run." She said, softly. "But yes, the sixties were awesome. It was music and fashion and sexual freedom and drugs. It was 'love, love, love' and the Beatles and Woodstock, flowers in your hair and free love. It was truly amazing."

"You are such a hippie." Bonnie teased.

"I am." Aliyah nodded.

"Teach me to be a hippie." Bonnie asked.

Aliyah laughed. "Let's go and get some flowers."

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN**_: Hope you all liked the chapter! I tried to mix the plot of Season 1 as well as some Bonliyah bonding and I hope I managed. If Bonnie seems a little dark in these chapters, it is important to remember that she is pretty angry at the world and I think, even in TVD, that Bonnie has the ability to be very dark when she wants to be. And I think that shows here. She wants vampires to hurt because she's hurt. She still misses Sheila like crazy and she wants to be in a position where she'll never be taken advantage of again.

I hope there wasn't too much Elena bashing in this chapter. Aliyah really doesn't like the Salvatores or Elena, and she's only really helping them because she doesn't want to draw too much attention to Mystic Falls and she wants to help Bonnie. It's just Aliyah's view on Elena that comes up in some scenes. I hope I'm not being too mean. I'm just a bit indifferent to Elena. I prefer Caroline and Bonnie more because I feel like they're the only ones that grew during TVD. And frankly, I find the whole Damon-Elena-Stefan triangle been done to death. So, I'd rather this story focus on Aliyah and Klaus and Bonnie and Caroline. So, if you want any pairings with either of those characters, other than the obvious Klaus/Aliyah, let me know.

By the way, sorry about the lack of Klaus in this chapter. I'm sure I'd be able to write a few flashbacks in the next chapter.

Anyway, hope you all liked the chapter and don't forget to review!


	5. Under Control

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Vampire Diaries in any shape or form. But I do own my OC._

_**A/N**__: _Hopefully, you guys like this chapter! We'll see the Founder's Day Kick-off Party and the introduction of John Gilbert. And don't worry, Bonnie will return to the main storyline next chapter in _Miss Mystic Falls._

_**Reviews**__:_

LoveLiveLife22: Thank you so much!

NicoleR85: I know, I'm glad too. I'm sure we'll see more of that in the future.

Guest: Thanks!

tate4eva: No, thank you!

Guest: I agree. I think I'm sick of the Elena show, so I decided to write a story around Bonnie's development in Season 1 and 2. Caroline will have a bigger part in Season 2 after she gets turned into a vampire, but I'm trying to establish a prior relationship between Aliyah and Caroline beforehand. This is minor smut between Niklaus and Aliyah, not very explicit, but soft core.

Guest: Thank you so much!

**Stormdancer**

**Chapter 5**

**Under Control**

"I hate your friends. Like a lot." Aliyah grimaced, throwing herself down on Bonnie's bed, almost knocking the grimoires from her hands.

Bonnie sighed, having heard the same complaint from Aliyah after every single encounter she had with Elena, Stefan or Damon, and after an encounter will all three, Aliyah pretty much drank her anger away, downing at least a bottle of scotch.

"What did they do now?" Bonnie asked, gently, giving Aliyah a mock-sympathetic look.

"They're just so _bloody_ annoying." Aliyah hissed, pushing herself off the bed with the palms of her hands. "They won't stop hounding me. Your BFF's boyfriend got himself kidnapped by a few of the tomb vampires last night."

"Wait, what?" Bonnie dropped the grimoire, haphazardly, on the bed and sat up, looking at Aliyah, intently. "What happened to Stefan?"

"Some of the tomb vampires kidnapped him for being the reason why they were all locked in the tomb in the first place – which, by the way, is a completely legitimate reason to seek revenge – and Damon and Elena sought by help to rescue him. But they compelled the owner of the house to not let Damon and I in, so we had to go to Alaric."

"Wait." Bonnie's eyes widened. "Mr Saltzman? My history teacher? Why would you go to him?"

"Oh, yeah… you don't know." Aliyah shook her head.

"Don't know what?" Bonnie asked through gritted teeth and the windows slammed open through an unseen gust of wind.

"Okay, first of all, calm down." Aliyah looked at her, sharply, a little apprehensive at the sight of magic so unrestrained. "Second of all, don't give me attitude." She said, sternly. "Your history teacher is a vampire hunter." She confessed.

"What does that even mean?" Bonnie threw her hands up in the air.

"Okay," Aliyah sighed. "There are some people in this world that hunt vampires usually with the intention of permanently destroying them. I've met quite a few of them over the years." She neglected to mention that she had known and been hunted by the original vampire himself. But thinking of Mikael just set her teeth on edge and dragged up memories that were best long forgotten "You see, I think after Isobel disappeared, Alaric became a vampire hunter to kill the vampire that he thought had killed her. At least, that's why I'd do. Of course, his wife turned out to be a total nutjob and actually _wanted_ to be turned into a vampire." She rolled her eyes. "But, yeah, your wicked new history teacher is really a vampire hunter. He got into an altercation with Damon after he found out that Damon was the one to 'kill' her. Damon stabbed him in the chest with his own stake, Alaric died and came back to life."

"How did he come back to life?" Bonnie asked, confused.

"Do you remember when I asked you to look through Emily's grimoires for a resurrection spell? When I was looking through the grimoire myself, I think Emily must have put a spell on those rings to bring the wearer back to life after a supernatural death. They were given to Jonathan Gilbert back in 1864 as a way of fighting the vampires."

"So, how did Alaric find one?" Bonnie frowned.

"Give me some time. I'm still trying to figure that one out myself. But, to be fair, if Isobel is Elena's birth mother, there has to be some connection between Isobel and the Gilberts." Aliyah shrugged. "So, Damon killed him, Alaric was brought back and everything was fine, except, you know, for the fact that Damon was the one to turn Alaric's wife." She shook her head. "Damon just keeps making more and more mistakes. Anyway, we had to get inside the house to rescue Stefan. Alaric goes inside and tries to convince the human that owned the house to let us in. Of course she refuses, she's been compelled. Damon kills her and we can get inside-"

"Wait, Damon killed a human?" Bonnie hissed.

"You can get angry at the bad vampire later, Bonnie girl. Let me finish the story." Aliyah patted her hand, comfortingly.

"Wait, why didn't you just compel her to let you in?" Bonnie turned accusing eyes on Aliyah.

"Because compulsion doesn't work like that." Aliyah said, plainly, picking at one of the threads on Bonnie's quilt.

"What do you mean?" Bonnie asked, her voice suspiciously quiet.

"A vampire cannot _undo_ the compulsion of someone who has already been previously compelled through a new compulsion." Aliyah explained. "So, even if Damon wasn't a sociopath, he couldn't have made her let us in. He killed her and the house reverted back to no one's ownership, which meant we could walk in. We killed a bunch of the tomb vampires, who had deviated from their leader's plain."

"Who's their leader?"

"Her name's Pearl Zhu." Aliyah told her, remembering what Damon had told her in the bar. "Apparently, she and Katherine were best friends back in 1864 and she was trapped in the tomb. Her daughter actually came here to find her. Her name's Anna and she struck up quite the friendship with your best friend's brother." She waggled her eyebrows, meaningfully.

"Wait…" Bonnie's eyes widened with horror and disgust. "Jeremy's dating a _vampire_?"

"Ouch." Aliyah held her hand to her chest, mock-hurt. "Don't be such a racist." She scolded, mildly, grinning when Bonnie blushed at the admonishment.

"How do you even _know_ that they're dating? What have you been doing, Aliyah?" Bonnie asked, leaning forwards.

"Nothing." Aliyah exclaimed, trying to look as innocent as possible, but for a thousand year old vampire, this was practically impossible. "Okay, fine," Her shoulders slumped, admitting defeat. "So, I might have made friends with Jenna Sommers."

"Elena's aunt?" Bonnie's brow furrowed in confusion. "Why?"

"Well, I'm twenty-four, darling. I need some company if you're going to be such a shut-in, and the only one in town that is remotely my age is Damon Salvatore, and I'd rather stake myself in the stomach than have a drink with him." She shuddered, delicately. "I like Jenna. She's kind, unassuming, lovely hair and has a fire in her I haven't seen in awhile." She shrugged. "I met her outside the Grill, where a tomb vampire was trying to compel her. I _shooed_ him away and we decided to have a couple of drinks together back at her place – and yes, that means I now have a full-fledged invitation to Elena Gilbert's house – and when we got there, I saw Anna and Jeremy in the midst of blood-sharing." She purred.

Bonnie looked interested. "What's blood-sharing?"

"It's very intimate when a human offers blood to a vampire, or a vampire offers blood to a human." Aliyah said, smiling serenely. "Mostly, only mated couples blood-share. It's a very intense process and it shouldn't be taken lightly."

Bonnie fidgeted. "Have you ever... blood-shared?" She asked in a stage whisper, a bit uncomfortable with the topic.

Aliyah smiled to herself. "I've been married twice, Bonnie girl. I have, more than once."

"But we can't let Jeremy date a vampire, especially one of the tomb vampires." Bonnie protested.

Aliyah shrugged. "It's not my problem, Bonnie. I've only met him once and I only know him through Jenna and Elena. I can't get involved in every single injustice that occurs in Mystic Falls, although by the way Mayor Lockwood kept looking down my dress, I should probably get involved in _that_ injustice." She muttered. "Anyway, can I get back to my story or are you just not interested in hearing it anymore?" She asked, dryly.

Bonnie grimaced and threw her arms over her eyes, sinking back down onto the pillow. "Okay, fine, keep going."

"Anyway, Damon killed the house owner, I think her name was Mrs Gibbons, Alaric, myself and Damon fought off a bunch of the tomb vampires. Your friend, you know, brunette, kind of spoilt, dead ringer for a bitchy vampire, _Elena Gilbert_," Aliyah said her name with barely disguised distaste. "She has a death wish and it's not attractive. We told her so many times to stay in the _bloody_ car and she still snuck inside." She shook her head. "Finally, we went down to the cellar, broke Stefan out and he and Elena escaped into the woods, as far as I know. Alaric, myself and Damon walked out the door and came into contact with Pearl and the other tomb vampires and she promised us she'd take care of any insubordination. The End."

"You really do hate Elena." Bonnie said, shaking her head.

"I can't help it. It's wired in me." She shrugged.

"What did Katherine do to you to make you hate Elena so much?" Bonnie asked, curiously.

Aliyah smiled, secretively. "Oh, Bonnie girl, this doppelganger nonsense goes way beyond simply Katherine Pierce. There's so much you and your friends still don't know."

"So, tell me." Bonnie said, urgently. "Help me protect my friends."

"No."

Bonnie glared at her. "How do you expect me to trust you when you won't-"

"Bonnie," Aliyah's eyes hardened and Bonnie was suddenly reminded that she was currently mouthing of to a vampire, a cool vampire that wasn't affected by magic, but a vampire nonetheless. "Please don't play games with me." She said, coldly. "If you are unable to trust me, I'd rather you just let me know and I can stop wasting my time. Don't think you're capable of playing games with me. I am helping Elena, Stefan and Damon out of my affection for _you_ and with the shared interest of Katherine Pierce not finding out about Elena. You have no idea what's in store for Elena if it is found out that there is a living human doppelganger alive. I'm trying to protect Elena from that. That's why I can't tell you."

Bonnie bit her lip, suddenly afraid that she had offended the woman in front of her who had become so important to her in such a little man. "I'm sorry." She offered. "I wasn't being fair to you. It's not your job to protect my friends and I'm sorry. I… I don't know if I trust you." She confessed. "I mean, you're a vampire and everything inside of me is screaming at me not to trust you." She pursed her lips. "But… you're also my friend. I mean, you helped me at a time where I thought I had no one. My dad's AWOL. Elena's more concerned with Stefan and Damon and I love Caroline, but she has no idea about vampires or witches or any of this stuff. You took me into your home and you offered me guidance, I should be able to trust you, but…"

"It's fine, Bonnie." Aliyah placed a comforting hand on Bonnie's shoulder. "I don't expect you to trust me." She said, gently. "I know how hard it is to be a witch and to trust something that literally goes against nature. All I'm saying is… I know things about your friend, Elena, that I can't talk about right now. Things that I'm trying my hardest to avoid. It won't be easy, but all I ask is that you don't try and manipulate me to reveal those things. It _will_ put all of you in danger, Bonnie, especially you, and I'm trying to avoid that if I can. If it means keeping you in the dark, then that's better in the long run."

"Katherine and Elena looking like each other isn't just a quirk of nature, is it?" Bonnie asked, quietly.

"Katherine and Elena don't just 'look like each other', they look identical, Bonnie." Aliyah confessed. "Elena is a complete and utter doppelgänger. But yes, it isn't just a quirk of nature. It means a lot of pain and anxiety for those involved and I'm trying to stop that from happening, for Elena's sake and your own."

"Why for Elena? You don't even like her." Bonnie pointed out.

"I don't like her, that's true. But I've spent my existence trying to prove to myself that, while I might be a vampire, that doesn't have to make me a monster. I'm a vampire, but that's not all I am. Just because you're a witch, a Bennett witch at that, doesn't mean that magic has to be the be all and end all of your life, Bonnie. You can have a life outside grimoires and aneurism spells and vampires, Bonnie. That's what I want for you. I've seen too many witches die before even having the chance to live their life and I want to see you live your life."

"I don't like Elena and I probably never will. I might tolerate her for your sake, but that's as far as it will most likely go. Frankly, her ancestor has done me entirely too much harm for me to be able to treat Elena, fairly, and I know that's wrong, but I can't help it. But that doesn't mean I'm willing to let vampires take advantage of an innocent teenage girl for their own devices. I'm a bitch, but I'm not cruel. Elena, at the end of the day, no matter how much her appearance and personality gets on my nerves, is just a girl who got shoved into a world in which she has no place." Aliyah shrugged. "And, as for why I'm helping her, the other reason is you. Did you ever wonder why I wanted you to strengthen your powers, Bonnie?"

"I thought that you wanted me to do something for you." Bonnie confessed. "But that was at the beginning." She hastened to clarify.

Aliyah nodded. "To be honest, I'd rather have you on my side than against me." She said, truthfully. "But, I learnt the hard way that witches should stay out of unnatural business. It doesn't work for them in the long run. My mother-in-law, myself and many of the witches that I've befriended over the years have all paid the price for getting themselves involved with vampires and I don't want that for you." She shrugged. "There's more to your life than helping vampires and I don't want you to go down that path."

"You just spent the last few months being the dial-a-witch for Stefan, Damon and Elena and that's no way to live. I don't want you to be unprotected ever again." She said, sincerely. "The reason why I'm pushing you to strengthen your powers, to learn more about what you can do with them, is to make sure you never find yourself in a situation where you're pushed around by vampires or witches or anyone, even me." She murmured.

"Thank you, Ali." Bonnie murmured and threw her arms around Aliyah's shoulders. Aliyah hugged back, smoothing down her hair. "And I'm sorry again."

"It's fine, darling. You don't have to thank me, Bonnie girl. I just want you to be the best Bonnie Bennett you can be."

* * *

><p>"So, tell me one good reason why I'm helping you?" Aliyah asked, genuinely not knowing the answer.<p>

"Because I'm hot and appealing and you just can't stay away from me." Damon shrugged.

"Yeah, that's definitely not the reason why." Aliyah smirked. "So, your brother's a stone's throw away from feasting on every unsuspecting townsperson and you want my help?" She shook her head. "Really, Stefan's inability to control himself is just screwing everyone's lives at this point."

"By the way, when we saw you again, you mentioned 'the Ripper of Monterey'. How did you know about that?" Damon asked, curiously

Aliyah shrugged. "I ran into your brother back in the 1920s. He was in pretty much a blood haze back then, feeding on every thing that walked his path. I doubt he even remembers seeing me."

"He'll be off the wagon soon." Damon pointed out.

"He will, won't he?" Aliyah smiled. "What will you do if he goes off the wagon?" She asked, interested.

Damon shrugged. "Probably poison him with vervain and stuff him in the basement of the Boarding House. It's what he did to me after Caroline." He paled, remembering the way Aliyah had attacked him after finding out what he did to Caroline. "Probably best to stay way from that topic…"

Aliyah's eyes went steely. "Probably best." She said, finally. "Why _are_ you telling me all of this?"

Damon smirked. "When Stefan goes all Ripper, I'm gonna need back-up, especially since I don't have my resident witch anymore."

Aliyah growled, lowly. "Watch it, Salvatore. I've warned you entirely too many times and frankly, I'm getting sick of it. If you so much as go near Bonnie, I will make you tear off every single one of your limbs and make you eat them." She deadpanned, her eyes showing that she meant every single word she was saying.

"How would you do that?" Damon smirked, obviously not taking her seriously

Aliyah smirked. "I can be very persuasive when I want to." She purred. She straightened, a dark look entering her eyes. "She is not 'your' anything. If she belongs to any vampire, she belongs to me and I'm very possessive of the things which I consider mine."

_I learnt from the best. _She thought, wryly.

"Anyway," She smiled, blindingly, as if she had not just threatened to remove his limbs. "Is there anything else I need to know?"

"That girl they found in the woods a couple of nights ago?" Aliyah nodded. "She didn't drug overdose like the coroner's office ruled. I actually turned her into a vampire and had to stake her when she lost control."

Aliyah shook her head. "You have absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever, do you?"

_He might actually be worse than Niklaus. At least, Niklaus has never forced himself on a woman. He never turned his humanity off, not once._

"Oh, please, Morticia, you known you love me." Damon waggled his eyebrows. "Anytime you wanna show it-"

Aliyah reached in between their bodies and tore at the skin of his arm with her nails, leaving bloody trails and jagged holes in his shirt in her wake.

"That's how I show it." She said, innocently. "Anything else?"

"Elena's uncle is back in the picture. He's a total tool. He told us that a hospital blood bank of Amherst reported several break-ins over the past two weeks. 7 hunters, 4 campers and 2 states employees within a 75-mile radius of Mystic Falls have been reported missing as well."

"Oh, joy, another Gilbert." Aliyah groaned. "Just what I need."

"But Stefan's the major problem right now and then we can deal with John Gilbert." Damon said, confidently.

"We?" Aliyah raised an eyebrow. "By the way, do you always confirm all of your plans with your brother's girlfriend?" She asked, smirking, gesturing to the Gilbert house, which they approached.

"Why, jealous?" Damon smirked, smugly.

"Not even in your nightmares." Aliyah said, blankly.

They walked up the steps onto the Gilbert's porch. Damon reached out and knocked on the door, swiftly, the two of them waiting patiently until Elena opened the door.

"Oh, good, you're here." Elena smiled, gratefully, at Damon.

Damon smirked. "You ask, I come. I'm easing like that." He said, playfully, making Aliyah roll her eyes at his flirting.

She turned to Aliyah. "Why are _you_ here?" She asked, uncomfortably, not knowing how to act around the hostile vampire. It was such a strange thought for her not to be liked by someone. She was the one liked by everyone, but she didn't know why the woman in front of her absolutely disliked her.

"Damon asked me to join him." Aliyah shrugged. "He's like the stray dog that follows you around everywhere."

Elena pointed upstairs and Damon and Aliyah could see Jeremy eating in the kitchen, alone.

Damon smirked, a wicked thought occurring to him. "No, Elena, I will not go to your bedroom with you." He called out, loudly, hoping that Jeremy would hear them.

Elena glared, viciously, at him and caught his arm. Aliyah and Damon laughed and they stepped over the threshold.

Elena stared at Aliyah, horrified. "How did you get inside the house? Don't you have to be invited in?"

Aliyah nodded. "Hmm? Oh, yeah. We do. But I've already been invited in." She said, innocently. "Your aunt and I had a couple of drinks in your house a couple of nights ago." She shrugged.

"If you hurt Aunt Jenna…" Elena hissed.

"Hold it, little girl." Aliyah held up her hand to stop Elena from talking. "Remember what I told you about threatening me?" Aliyah asked, a cold smile playing on her lips. "Just like I told you, I have absolutely no intention of hurting your aunt. I actually quite like her." She paused. "Which was very shocking for me… seeing as she's related to you."

_Actually, she might not be._

Elena scowled at her and pushed Damon and Aliyah towards the stairs, gesturing for them to go upstairs with her. Jeremy looked at them with confusion and interest from the kitchen. Elena, Aliyah and Damon entered her bedroom.

"Ah, just like I remember." Damon sighed.

Aliyah rolled her eyes.

Elena glared at him and flushed slightly, sneaking a glance at Aliyah, not wanting the woman to think badly of her. "Stop messing around." She told Damon, warningly.

Damon flopped onto her bed and took the large, stuffed teddy bear with him.

"Did you know that your uncle has been kicking it with the Founder's Council?" Damon asked, suddenly.

Elena glanced at Aliyah, nervously. "What?" She asked Damon.

"Yep." Damon nodded.

Elena sighed and shook his head. "Perfect, we'll just add it to the growing list of how everything is falling apart."

Damon looked at the broken lamp on the floor with interest. "What happened right there?"

Elena blushed bright red and Aliyah smirked, realising what had actually happened. "Uh… nothing."

Aliyah chuckled. "I'll bet."

Elena looked uncomfortable when Damon's blue eyes turned on her. "Look, Damon, Aliyah, I'm worried about Stefan. He says that everything's okay but he's clearly struggling. How long is it gonna take before he goes back to normal?"

Damon shrugged. "A few days. Give or take."

"It's been a few days." Elena pointed out, frustrated.

"What were you expecting when you dated a vampire, Elena?" Aliyah asked, confused. "Your boyfriend drinks blood, he'll lose control at some point, he might even snack on you to get rid of some of those urges. You don't wanna play by the rules, don't play the game."

"What's the big deal?" Damon asked and threw himself off the bed, handing Elena the teddy bear.

"He's not himself." Elena said, urgently, looking between Aliyah and Damon.

Damon moved over to Elena's dresser, opened one of the drawers and peered into it. "Well, maybe his problem is that he has spent too long not being himself." He snatched a bra from the drawer and held it up for Elena's sight.

Aliyah rolled her eyes and took the bra from him, shoving it back in the drawer and making sure to catch Damon's fingers as she did so.

"Would it kill you to stop being a pervert for five minutes?" Aliyah asked, dryly.

Elena looked at her, gratefully, and Aliyah shrugged. "We girls have to stick together. Against the stupid percentage of the male population."

Damon tried to mess around with other items and knick-knacks that lay around Elena's room, Elena running after him to make sure he didn't break anything.

Damon turned to look at Elena and considered her, seriously. "It is what it is Elena. The Stefan you know was "good behaviour Stefan", 'reign it in Stefan", "fight against his nature into an annoying excessive level Stefan" but if you think there isn't another part to this then you have not been paying attention."

Elena took back a photo frame he was holding. "He's not you, not even close." She protested.

"You're right, Elena." Aliyah said, suddenly. "Stefan isn't Damon. But that doesn't mean he doesn't want to be. Damon has a lot of control for someone of his age. He's just ridiculously impulsive and he has anger issues the size of the French Quarter. But Stefan's worse."

"Stefan's nothing like-" Elena protested, hotly.

"Stefan's the Ripper of Monterey." Aliyah snapped. "Do you know what that means? Even if he wasn't a Ripper, did you imagine that your boyfriend hadn't killed anyone before? That he had never drank a drop of human blood? Of course he had. It's in a vampire's nature to drink human blood. Just because he tries to satisfy that urge by drinking bunnies dry doesn't mean it works. It makes him weak until he gets to the point where he can't do anything else but drink human blood. He's getting there. He's losing control. And there's nothing you can say that would defend him."

And then, suddenly, Aliyah and Damon were gone.

* * *

><p>"You're really getting into all of this Founding Families garbage, aren't you?" Bonnie asked, arranging Aliyah's curls over her shoulders.<p>

Aliyah smoothed down the mid-thigh, halter-neck silver dress, staring at her reflection in the mirror. She settled the thick black belt that fell under her bust, moving it so that it was more comfortable against her torso.

"Are you insane? This is hell on Earth for me." Aliyah rolled her eyes. "My brother-in-law was the one who was good at schmoozing with rich, entitled people. My husband never had any patience for them, he just simply killed them when they pissed him off."

"Something tells me I wouldn't like your husband." Bonnie muttered under her breath.

Aliyah snorted. "No one likes my husband." She tugged at her long earrings. "I never really had much patience for these things, but I did it out of necessity. After centuries of going to these parties and pretending to me interested in what rich people are interested in, I'm just kind of sick of it."

"Well, thanks for not making me go." Bonnie grinned at her in the mirror.

Aliyah spun around to face her. "Don't thank me. This is your last free pass. You're going back to school next week." She said, sternly.

Bonnie's eyes widened. "Wait, what?"

"School, Bonnie. Remember school? The institution that you visit to learn?" Aliyah said, sarcastically. "You're going back next week. It's Miss Mystic Falls next week and both of your best friends are running, so you're going to be a good friend and support them when they try and validate their self-esteem by trying to win a pretty crown."

"I hate you." Bonnie grumbled.

"I know, Bonnie girl, but what kind of female role model would I be if I kept letting you wag school?" She leaned down and kissed the shorter girl on the cheek. "I'm gonna hate this, but it's a good way to keep an eye on things. I can watch the Founders' Council at work, talk to John Gilbert and find out what he knows and keep an eye on the Salvatore brothers."

"Have fun reading your dusty grimoires and don't knock over any liquor stores, okay?"

She winked at the younger girl and shut the front door behind her.

* * *

><p>"Well, don't you two cut dashing figures in suits?" Aliyah smirked, walking up to the Salvatore brothers outside the Founder's Hall, her six-inch black pumps sinking into the grass as she stalked forwards.<p>

"And you look beautiful." Damon's eyes roved over her lithe figure in the dress. "Are you sure you don't want to-"

"You really don't want me to shove my foot-"

"Can you both stop with your bickering? I'm already having a hard enough time as it is without having to deal with your 'thing'."

"'Thing'? We don't have a 'thing'?" Aliyah scoffed.

"Of course you do." Stefan smirked. "He says something completely stupid, sleazy and Damon-like, you get angry and then you threaten him or actually bodily hurt him, he heals and then he starts up again. It's annoying, so stop." He said, sharply.

"You know," Aliyah's smile turned dangerous and both brothers were suddenly reminded that the woman before them was centuries older than them. "I think I'll take your new-found inability to resist the slightest drop of blood without turning into a foaming-at-the-mouth, blood-sucking monster as the reason for you disregarding to show me some respect. I'm centuries older than you and I can kill you both anytime I want. You should definitely remember that." She observed her sharp nails with new-found interest.

"Oh god! I shouldn't be here." Stefan groaned.

Damon smirked. "Come on, don't be a downer, it's a party for the founding families! That would be us. That would be rude to skip it."

Stefan stared at Damon for a moment. "I really liked you a whole lot better when you hated everybody."

Damon nodded. "Oh I still do. I just love that they love me." He laughed and looked at Stefan, an uncharacteristically soft look entering his eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm good, I'm fine." Stefan said, reassuringly.

"No cravings? No urges? Is that whiskey you've been drinking all day doing its job?" Stefan and Aliyah laughed. "We are who we are Stefan. Nothing's gonna change that."

"Ah! Nothing will make you happier to just see me give up, huh, Damon?" Stefan stared at his brother, knowingly.

Damon shrugged. "Whatever, it's inevitable."

"Well, I'm gonna find Elena." Stefan told them before leaving.

"Don't embarrass me, young man!" Damon called out.

* * *

><p>"Aliyah Bennett?" A feminine voice called out and Aliyah looked up from her glass of whiskey, as a middle-aged, short blonde-haired woman in a police officer's uniform approached her. "As you're the only person in this room that I don't recognise, I'm going to guess that you're Aliyah, Bonnie's cousin."<p>

Aliyah smiled, slowly, wondering if she was about to be threatened. "Yes, I'm Aliyah. And you are…" She trailed off, expectantly.

"Elizabeth Forbes, I'm the sheriff of Mystic Falls. But, call me Liz." Liz outstretched her hand and Aliyah shook it. "Carol Lockwood asked me to introduce myself to you. It sounds like you're going to be here for awhile and I make it a point to know everyone in Mystic Falls."

"Forbes? Any relation to Caroline?" Aliyah asked, inquisitively, already knowing the answer.

"I'm her mother. You know Caroline?" Liz raised an eyebrow.

"I've intercepted a few of her calls to Bonnie." Aliyah laughed, sheepishly, and rubbed the back of her neck. "And I bet her at that Bachelor Raffle a few nights ago. She's a lovely girl and she's really been there for Bonnie. You must be really proud of her." She said, softly.

Liz took taken-aback by the sudden defence of her daughter, sounding so different to the number of complaints she had received and had thought of her insecure, and neurotic, shallow daughter. "She… really is." She stammered.

Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted by the approach of Jeremy Gilbert, whose attention was directed towards Liz.

"Excuse me, Sheriff. I was curious if there's been any more information about what happened to Vicki Donovan?" Jeremy asked, hurriedly.

Aliyah remembered Damon talking about the recently-turned vampire that he had sired and staked and wondered if Jeremy had been seeing Vicki Donovan as well. If he had, then Elena wasn't the only Gilbert with a thing for vampires.

"It was an overdose, Jeremy." Sheriff Forbes said, softly.

"Yeah, but her body was buried. Somebody must have done that." Jeremy pointed out.

Aliyah looked around the room and her eyes fell onto Damon, who was obviously listening in on the conversation and looked very uncomfortable.

"We're aware of that. The investigation is ongoing but there's nothing more I can tell you at this time. I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Jeremy said, sadly.

* * *

><p>Aliyah walked up to the bar and ordered another glass of whiskey, sipping on it as she avoided all the invitations for a dance. She watched, out of the corner of her eye, as Damon sauntered up to her, all cocky like, joining her at the bar and ordering a glass of whiskey.<p>

"Oh, Gods, will you stop stalking me?" Aliyah groaned and dipped her lips into the scotch.

"Oh, please," Damon scoffed. "You love it."

"Yes, I love it like I love gonorrhoea." Aliyah said, spitefully.

Elena came up to them.

"And today just gets better and better." Aliyah muttered to herself.

"Have you noticed what your brother has been up to?" Elena told Damon.

Damon snorted. "No, I have been too preoccupied with yours." '

Elena looked at him with scepticism and alarm.

"I think he's referring to the fact that Jeremy has been asking questions about Vicki Donovan's death." Aliyah offered, tipping her drink in Elena's direction.

"How do you even know all of this?" Elena asked, throwing her hands in the air.

"Easy, darling, you're making a scene." Aliyah purred. "And I was with Sheriff Forbes when Jeremy came up to her, asking about Vicki."

"He knows that her death was ruled an overdose." Elena pointed out.

Aliyah raised an eyebrow. " 'Oh, but sheriff, someone buried her. Who would do that?'."

"I know, I know! Me! I mean, I could compel him, but he's wearing vervain." Damon muttered.

Elena shook her head. "No, I don't want you to compel him."

"If he keeps asking questions…" Damon pointed out.

"Damon, no, I'm serious. I'm not going to do that to him again. I'll handle it." Elena told them.

Damon shrugged. "Okay. Don't say I didn't warn you."

* * *

><p>Aliyah stood on the balcony, looking out onto the grass, when she heard someone approach her from behind. She turned around and saw a middle-aged man with a receding hairline, a smug face and sharp suit walking towards her.<p>

"You must be Aliyah, right?" John said. "Carol Lockwood told me about the photojournalist writing a book on Mystic Falls."

"You're John Gilbert. Elena's uncle." Aliyah cocked her head and smiled. "Are you enjoying the kick-off party?" She asked, innocently.

John nodded, taking her left on the balcony. "Oh yeah. I forgot how much fun these small town celebrations can be."

"Yeah. When was the last time you were here?" Aliyah asked, faking an interest.

"Hasn't been that long, my brother's funeral. How long have you been in town?"

"Oh, not long at all. Just a couple of weeks." Aliyah said through gritted teeth.

"Oh, right, Carol did tell me who you are. You're Bonnie Bennett's cousin. The same Bonnie that happens to be best friends with my niece. But, it's weird, you know, I swear I've seen a picture of you before."

"That can't be possible." A smile played on Aliyah's lips.

"Her name was even the same, but the surname was different. Aliyah Mikaelson, maybe she's your ancestor?" John asked, innocently.

"Perhaps." Aliyah said, playing along.

"There was this legend about her. Apparently, she was a vampire. One of the first vampires."

The smile fell from Aliyah's face and she tensed, realising that John Gilbert knew exactly who she was and he was attempting to threaten her with that knowledge. "Vampires don't exist."

John Gilbert shrugged. "Oh, but this one's story is _very_ interesting. It's said that she's married to a vampire named Klaus. But you already knew that didn't you?" He smirked, as if he had managed to catch her in a trap. "I mean, it's you, isn't it?"

"Is there any particular reason why you're telling me this?" Aliyah purred, turning to face him.

John shrugged. "I just thought we get the introduction outs of the way."

"Ah!" Aliyah nodded. "If you know about me, and you know about my husband, you should probably know that I can rip your heart out of your chest and make it look like an accident." She said, sweetly.

"Yes."

"Yeah, okay. But you probably ingest vervain so, I wouldn't bite you." She said, thoughtfully.

"Why don't you take a bite to find out?" John suggested.

Aliyah laughed and her hand reached out, suddenly, gripping John by the throat and squeezed. "You know I could drain you of the vervain _any_ time I like." She crooned. "I'd string you up in my apartment and slice the major veins, one at a time, and bleed you out. But that would kill you." She looked down at his hand. "But you're wearing that pesky ring, aren't you? So, you'd just come back to life and all of that hard work would be a waste." She lunged forwards and tore the ring off his hand, a fearful look finally entering his eyes, and bounced it in her hands. "Now, I could kill you," She smiled. "But that's entirely too simple." She slid the ring back on his finger. She looked thoughtful. "I could turn you." A horrified look entered his eyes. "But I have this thing about offering my blood to undeserving humans."

"So, why don't you tell me how you know I'm an Original?" Aliyah smirked.

John shrugged. "I have my sources."

"You should probably know that if you have anything untoward planned for me," Aliyah narrowed her eyes. "My husband _will _descend on you." She said, coldly. "And he's not one to worry about pesky things like Town Councils, he'll just kill every single person in the town until he gets me back."

"You have a lot of faith in a guy you haven't seen in eighty-five years." John wheezed out.

"I do." Aliyah said, confidently. "My husband and I have millions of issues, but I have absolutely no doubt that he would decimate Mystic Falls if something happened to me."

She smiled, suddenly. "Damon, would you come here for a moment?" She called out and Damon stepped out of the shadows. "Damon, this is John Gilbert, Elena's uncle. Say hello."

"Hello." Damon said, blankly.

Aliyah turned her attention back to John. "I'm not _just_ a vampire, John. I'm an Original and no Podunk town council against vampires will be able to take me down. Least of all, you." She smiled. "I'm an Original and that means that I can compel other vampires. Not to mention, humans. But you're on vervain and I'm trying to stay out of the spotlight, which means Damon here…" She patted him on the shoulder. "…is going to do all of my dirty work for me. It's a warning, keep your mouth shut and I will allow you to live." She said, warningly.

"Damon, why don't you…" She looked thoughtful. "…break his neck and throw him off the balcony. You won't remember any of what happened here, Damon. You came here, you had an altercation with John and he knows that a you're a vampire from 1864." She looked at John, whose face was a mix of anger and worry. "Which I'm sure you do, right?" He nodded, stiffly. "Oh, buck up, John, you'll just come back to life, anyway."

"Damon, do it now." She squeezed Damon's shoulder and spun on her heel, walking away from the balcony and re-entering the Founder's Hall.

* * *

><p>Stefan was still drinking at the bar when Damon and Aliyah joined him.<p>

"You want to hear the bad news or the really bad news?" Damon asked Stefan as they approached.

Stefan grimaced. "Actually, I don't want any news, Damon."

"Alright, let me rephrase. Do you want to hear how the council is back in vampire mode or how I just killed Uncle John Gilbert?" Damon smirked.

Stefan spun around on their feet to stare at him with shock. "What?"

"Great party, by the way, huh?" Aliyah muttered.

Damon smiled and left, leaving Stefan and Aliyah alone at the bar. Stefan made to go after him, but stopped when he saw Kelly crying and bleeding, and he approached her.

"Is everything alright?" Stefan asked, softly.

"No. I ruined it, I always ruin it. What is wrong with me?" Kelly sobbed.

Stefan slipped to her knees and stared at the blood coming out of Kelly's forehead. He touched the blood on her forehead, gently.

"What are you doing?" Kelly asked, confused.

"Nothing, absolutely _nothing_." Aliyah snarled, her hand coming down heavy on Stefan's shoulder.

The shock of the grip forced Stefan to finally come around.

"Uh, I'm sorry." Stefan murmured and got up and left, Aliyah following him.

She went outside to see Stefan standing by himself, raising his fingers, which were dripping with blood, to his lips and licking the blood off them.

* * *

><p>"Thank you all, thank you very much, thank you. Thank you all for joining us tonight. In just a few moments, we will officially begin the countdown to our upcoming Founders' Day celebration and it's a very special one this year. The one hundred fiftieth birthday of our town and I would like to welcome back one of our town's favourite sons to do the honours of ringing our official charter bell. John Gilbert, would you please join me up here?" Mayor Lockwood called out.<p>

Everyone applauded and John joined the mayor on the stage, Damon and Aliyah staring at him.

"He's alive? How is he alive?" Damon hissed at Aliyah.

"Look at his ring, Pennywise, he has one just like Alaric's. So, you snapping his neck and throwing him off the balcony wouldn't exactly kill him permanently." Aliyah rolled her eyes.

"One hundred and fifty years of community, prosperity, family. We take care of each other, we look after each other, protect each other;" John looked at Damon and Aliyah. "It's good to be home."

Everyone clapped and Damon dragged Aliyah over to Alaric.

"Look at his right hand." Damon muttered to Aliyah.

"Whose?" Alaric asked, his brow furrowing.

"The town's favourite son. Look at his ring." Aliyah told him.

John rang the bell and the same ring that Alaric wore was shown to Alaric.

"Well, it looks like mine." Alaric commented.

"Yeah, and that would be a big coincidence if he didn't just came back from the death five minutes ago. Where the hell did you get that ring?" Damon asked, curiously.

"Isobel, my wife."

"Who gave birth to Elena, under the medical care of the esteemed Doctor Grayson Gilbert, John's brother." Aliyah finished, smirking at them when they stared at her with shocked eyes.

They all looked at John.

"Do you think John knew Isobel?" Alaric asked.

Aliyah's smile turned vicious. "John knows a lot of things."

* * *

><p>"Why do I have to join in your ambush?" Aliyah muttered as she, Damon and Alaric waited for John to leave the Founder's Hall.<p>

"Because you're our ace in the hole." Damon shrugged and then shushed her when he saw John leaving. "Going somewhere?" He called out.

"I've never liked to be the last one to leave a party. It's too desperate. You going to kill me again or you gonna let Mr Saltzman do your dirty work?" John said, directing his last comment towards Aliyah.

"I haven't decided yet." Aliyah smirked. "I prefer to keep my victims on their toes."

"Okay, you obviously know who I am." Alaric said, glaring at John.

"I do. Alaric Saltzman, a high school history teacher with a secret."

"Sure know a lot for someone who just got to town." Damon said through gritted teeth.

"More than you can imagine, Damon. My knowledge of this town goes beyond anything that you," He looked at Damon. "Or you," He looked at Alaric. "Or the council knows. Of course, probably not as much as you." He smiled at Aliyah. "So, if you're planning on some clever high speed snatch ring vamp kill move again, know that if I die, everything I know goes to the council including the fascinating little tale of the original Salvatore brothers and their present day return to Mystic Falls, and their vampire friend who's much older than she pretends to be."

Damon looked surprised and didn't know what to say, but Aliyah cocked her head, wondering whether it was actually worthwhile keeping the human alive. If Niklaus were here, he'd have torn the ring off, snapped the human's neck and been on his merry way, as there was nothing that the town council could do to kill them.

"How did you get that ring?" Alaric asked John.

"I had inherited one, my brother Gray had the other. This was his," He showed his ring to them. "And I wouldn't have given mine to Isobel if I had known she'd hand it over to another guy."

"So you did know her?" Damon asked.

John shrugged. "Who do you think send her your way when she wanted to become a vampire?"

Damon raised an eyebrow. "You sent her?"

"Guilty." John smirked. "Why, did you think someone else send her? Maybe Katherine Pierce?"

Damon narrowed his eyes, tensing. "How do you know about Katherine?"

"How do I know anything, Damon?" John asked, loftily.

"What do you want?" Damon snapped.

"So many questions. It was a pleasure meeting you, Ric. I've heard so much about you." John smirked and then left.

"Katherine. All of this comes back to Katherine. When I get my hands on that little bitch, I'll tear her head from her shoulders." Aliyah snarled.

"How do you think he knows Katherine?" Damon asked.

Aliyah snorted. "Of course he knows Katherine."

"What do you mean?" Damon asked, frowning.

"Why do you think Elena looks like the spitting image of Katherine? And just not a few similarities?" Aliyah's hands fell to her lips.

Damon shrugged. "I thought it was a quirk of nature."

Aliyah snorted. "Try genetics."

Damon's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"It's a bloodline, dumbass. They look exactly like each other because they're family. They're related. Katherine is Elena's grandmother like a hundred times removed." Aliyah said, slowly, as if she were speaking to a small child.

"That's impossible." Damon said, shaking her head.

"You didn't know her at all, did you?" Aliyah said, sympathetically. "I wouldn't worry, Katerina has a tendency to be a manipulative bitch."

Damon ran a hand through his hair. "I don't believe this."

"Well, it's true, Damon. I'm sorry." Aliyah sighed. "Well, I've had my fair share of drama for today. I'm gonna head home." She smiled at Alaric and Damon. "Bye, boys, I'll see you later."

* * *

><p>"It was awful." Aliyah moaned.<p>

"I bet you're just making that up." Bonnie teased.

"No, it was absolutely horrible." Aliyah sat up. "What do you know about John Gilbert?"

"Elena's uncle?" Bonnie asked and Aliyah nodded. Bonnie shrugged. "I don't really know him all that well. He hasn't been back to Mystic Falls since Elena's parents' funeral. I'm fairly sure that Elena doesn't really like him all that much, even though he's her uncle."

"Oh, I don't think he's her uncle." Aliyah shook her head.

"What are you talking about?" Bonnie asked, confused.

"Well, I was figuring out the relationship between Katherine and Elena. If I tell you something, can I trust you not to tell anyone else?"

Bonnie sat up, her face turning serious. "Sure, what is it?"

"No one knows this, but after I saw Elena, I did some research. I already knew that Katerina Petrova – that is, Katherine Pierce – was born in Bulgaria back in 1473. But, what I didn't know is when she was 16 or 17, she fell pregnant by some man. When she gave birth, Katerina's father took the child from her and gave the child to another family. I think Elena's descended from Katherine's line through Isobel."

"So, Elena and Katherine are related and _that's_ why they look identical?" Bonnie's brow furrowed.

Aliyah nodded. "Yes. But then, I was trying to figure out who Elena's father could be. Call it scholar's curiosity. I was trying to form the connection between Isobel and the Gilberts and I think I just found my link. John confessed that he knew Isobel and I think he still knows her. So, tell me, if you got a sixteen-year-old pregnant and you had a brother, who was a doctor, and whose wife was unable to get pregnant, what would you do?" She asked, conspiratorially.

"Wait, you're not saying what I think I'm saying?" Bonnie leaned back. "Are you?"

"I think John Gilbert's Elena's father." Aliyah purred.

"No way." Bonnie shook her head.

"Oh, come on, buy into the conspiracy." Aliyah smacked her, lightly, on the arm.

"Ugh, now you have me thinking things I'd rather not be thinking." Bonnie shook her head, disgusted.

"So, Miss Mystic Falls is next week." Aliyah said, nudging her in the side.

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Do I really have to go back to school? She asked, her eyes widening comically.

"Yes." Aliyah said, finally. "What kind of 'guiding force in your life' would I be if I let you turn into a hermit? You're young, Bonnie girl, you should be out there, living your life." She chided.

"But, I'm still learning." She protested, gesturing to the pile of grimoires stacked up on the floor.

"And you can still learn." Aliyah said, reassuringly. "Just after you finish your homework and school." She ran a hand through her hair. "So, do you have a date for Miss Mystic Falls?"

Bonnie laughed, the idea of her having a date incredibly funny to her. "No, I don't have a date."

Aliyah pouted. "Why not? You're young, smart, gorgeous. Why don't you have a date?"

Bonnie shrugged. "I've had a few boyfriends, but nothing serious like what Elena and Caroline have had. Guys have always flocked towards them." She said, sadly.

Aliyah's brow furrowed. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard." She shook her head. "Why wouldn't guys want you? You're amazing." She scowled.

"What about you?" Bonnie asked, deciding to change the subject. "Do you have a date?"

Aliyah laughed. "Of course not. Darling, I am married."

"Well, he's not here, is he?" Bonnie smirked. "There's gotta be someone."

"No." Aliyah shook her head, sadly. "I don't do the dating thing, Bonnie. I really do love my husband… even if we've been separated for eighty-five yeas."

"Why not just end it? I mean, eighty-five years…" Bonnie trailed off.

"I love him." Aliyah shrugged, a wistful look entering her eyes. "And there are times, and they are few in between, that I actually miss him."

"Do you talk to him?" Bonnie asked, softly.

"I haven't spoken to him since… 1976." Aliyah murmured, rubbing the back of her neck.

"_I have no idea why I am doing this." Aliyah pouted and her head sank back against the pillow._

"_You said that you would let me paint you." Niklaus reminded her, smirking, devilishly._

"_You did not tell me that you wanted to paint me… in the nude." She said through gritted teeth._

"_Well, I do, so hush and let me paint in peace." Niklaus chided._

_Niklaus stood before a large canvas that he had set up in their bedchambers, alternating between looking at Aliyah, who was lying on their silk sheets, gloriously bare, and at the painting. She posed in the same position as Titian's 'Venus of Urbino', one of her elbows resting against a pillow next to her head and the other curling around her thigh, her fingers precariously close to the soft, damp flesh between her thighs. Her body was flushed and wet from the heat, and her skin dark against the green silk of their sheets._

"_Are we almost done?" Aliyah asked, impatiently. "Rebekah and Kol will be knocking on our door soon." She reminded him._

_Niklaus' eyes narrowed as the painted the curve of her hip just right. "Patience, hellcat. I don't have many chances to do this."_

_Aliyah couldn't help the fond smile that spread across her pink lips when she saw the determined, intent look on his face whenever he was drawing or painting. It was as if the cruel, immoral vampire mask that he displayed to the public disappeared, and all was left was her Niklaus, her artiste. She didn't even have to be the subject of his focus, all she would do is sit beside him, reading a book, while he painted for hours. _

"_And… I… am… finished…" Niklaus drawled, his paintbrush making one more stroke before he took a step back._

"_Well," Aliyah ran her hand through her hair and seductively curled her body. She watched in pride as Niklaus' eyes darkened, as he stalked forwards. She bit her lip. "How would you like your payment, Mr Artiste?" She purred, playfully, her finger beckoning him towards her._

_He climbed onto the bed and crawled over to her, moving so that his body was directly on top of her. His large hand slid through her hair and tipped her head back, exposing the long, lean line of her neck to his dark gaze. She moaned in anticipation and she smiled, wickedly, having a sudden thought. She hooked her feet behind his legs and with a show of strength, she threw him off her, instead pinning him to the bed and straddling his hips. She leaned back, exposing her naked body to his lustful eyes, and pulled her long mane of hair so that it was in front of her shoulders and almost covering her breasts from his gaze. She knew how much he loved having his hands in her hair when they made love._

"_Oh," Niklaus rasped, his eyes raking over her naked body. "My sweet little hellcat is taking charge." He threw his hands out to his sides. "Have at it, my love." He crooned as she rocked down on him._

"No, it wouldn't do well for me to take a date to the pageant." Aliyah shook her head. "I'm still very much in love with my husband, and I'm not ready to move on yet."

"Do you think… he's moved on?" Bonnie asked, hesitantly, hoping that she wasn't about to hurt Aliyah's feelings.

Aliyah pursed her lips, the thought of Niklaus moving on tearing at her heart. "I hope not." She said, weakly. She shook her head. "Anyway, I'll hope you'll reconsider getting a date, Bonnie. A girl your age should be playing the field." She smirked and waggled her eyebrows. "And, don't forget, you're going back to school next week."

"I hate you so much." Bonnie grumbled.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN**_: Well, that was the end of _Under Control_. I hope you all liked more Bonliyah in this story, even though Aliyah got a bit angry at Bonnie in the beginning. Just because she likes Bonnie doesn't mean that Aliyah's going to let her use her as a punching bag. Next chapter's where Bonnie returns to TVD storyline and _Miss Mystic Falls_. It'll be an awesome episode where Bonnie finally gets to showcase exactly what she's been learning with Aliyah.

Anyway, I hope you all liked the chapter. I thought John would probably know that Aliyah's an Original, because he knew about them in Season 2. I hope you liked the confrontation between John and Aliyah. She's not one to let someone threaten her. I was really tempted to have Aliyah be one that kissed Tyler in this episode, but then I decided that I didn't want to add the whole Tyler-Aliyah-Klaus love triangle because it would seem too much like Caroline's romance with Klaus in canon.

See you next time!


	6. Miss Mystic Falls

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Vampire Diaries in any shape or form. But I do own my OC._

_**A/N**__: _Okay, this is the Miss Mystic Falls chapter and Bonnie returns to the TVD storyline. We'll also see exactly how Aliyah's relationship with Bonnie has developed and especially how they act around each other in public. Because Bonnie's a main character in this story, I will be doing the scenes with her as well.

_**Reviews**__:_

mythzzrosenov: I hope he doesn't either :( Poor Aliyah, if he does.

NicoleR85: You'll have to wait until _Founder's Day_ to see which pairing I picked for Bonnie and I think you'll like it :) I have a new twist on it.

Guest: I'm so glad you're enjoying Aliyah :)

MadaleineWinchester: Thank you so much! I'm glad you're enjoying the story and Aliyah!

Skyeward MusicLover: Thank you so much!

Guest: Thank you so much!

tate4eva: I'm glad you're enjoying the Bonliyah relationship :) I've already started writing Season 2, so we should see a lot of manipulative Aliyah coming out and her playing a lot of games behind the scenes.

**Stormdancer**

**Chapter 6**

**Miss Mystic Falls**

"So, do you have everything you need?" Aliyah asked Bonnie as they stepped out onto the threshold of her apartment. "Books, pens, pencils, paper, calculator…" She said, teasingly.

"Oh, I hate you so hard." Bonnie scowled at her.

Aliyah laughed and shut the door behind her, turning her keys in the lock and locking it.

"Why are you even coming with me?" Bonnie asked. She then paled. "You're not walking up to the school with me, are you?" She asked, horrified.

Aliyah rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, Bonnie girl, I'm just going to drop you off."

Bonnie's brow furrowed. "How are you gonna do that?"

Aliyah raised an eyebrow and gestured to the new silver Lamborghini Reventón that was parked on the street in front of her penthouse apartment.

"I'll drop you off." She repeated and motioned for Bonnie to get inside the passenger side. "You know, I'm gonna sell the apartment."

"Wait, what?" Bonnie turned around in the seat to stare at Aliyah with shock.

Aliyah turned the wheel, peering at the road through the dashboard. "Well, I was always planning on selling the apartment. It was always meant to be temporary for me. I wasn't sure exactly how long I was planning on staying in Mystic Falls when I got here. I wasn't sure how you'd react to me, so I got an apartment. But when you moved in with me, I had some of my men begin renovations on a house up in the woods that I bought when I got here. I hope you don't mind, I just really like my privacy. And, there's no sentimental value to the apartment and people – including _your_ friends, if you choose to live with me – are going to want to come out, and the apartment doesn't really sound like the kind of place where you can invite people over."

Bonnie was suddenly quiet, reading in between the lines of what Aliyah had said. "You want me to live with _you_?" She asked, quietly.

Aliyah tensed, wondering if she had said the wrong thing. "I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to… I just thought, you might not want to stay in your grandmother's place because of all of the memories… and your Dad hasn't been back since before she died." She shrugged. "You don't have to if you don't want to… it was just an idea I was putting out there…" She rubbed the back of her beck, nervously.

Bonnie smiled at her, slowly. "I'd love to live with you, Aliyah. But if my Dad comes back…"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, darling." Aliyah said, reassuringly. "Now that you're reintegrating yourself back into society after almost becoming a permanent shut-in," She ignored Bonnie's glare. "You'll have a life and your craft can't surround it. So, after school, why don't we go and look at the place, see how you like it?"

Bonnie nodded and grinned. "That sounds great, Lee-Lee." Aliyah glared at her. "Oh, come on, you call me 'Bonnie girl' as if I'm some dame in the 1920s," Aliyah hid her smile. "The least you can do is let me call you Lee-Lee."

Aliyah pursed her lips. "Fine." She said, reluctantly. "But only you, got it. I don't want anyone else to call me that." She said, warningly.

Bonnie mimed zipping her mouth shut and throwing the key away.

They finally arrived at the school and Aliyah parked on a side street.

"What are you going to do today while I'm at school?" Bonnie asked, curiously.

"Well, I'll be counting the seconds until you finish school," Aliyah teased her and Bonnie hit her on the arm. "Hey! That hurt!" Bonnie raised an eyebrow. "Okay, no, it didn't. Anyway, Miss Mystic Falls seems to be an interesting and important tradition here in Mystic Falls, so Carol Lockwood invited me over to get some pictures of the competition and asked me to cover the event in my 'book'." She mimicked quotation marks.

"More schmoozing." Bonnie said, mock-sympathetically.

"Are you mocking my pain, Bonnie girl?" Aliyah asked, sternly. "Because you're not too old for me to take you over my knee." She threatened, half-heartedly.

Bonnie laughed and pushed open the car door, stepping out, her hand running over the sleek black frame of the Vanquish, smiling to herself. "It is an awesome car." She commented. "Okay, see you later, Lee-Lee." She teased

Aliyah huffed. "Text me when you're done and I'll come and pick you up. If anyone gives you any trouble," Bonnie rolled her eyes, knowing that Aliyah meant Elena with that comment. "Tell them to get stuffed." She smirked, turning the key in the ignition and driving off.

* * *

><p>Aliyah stood outside the Founder's Hall, listening into the conversation between Sheriff Forbes, Damon and John. She had been passing by the place on her way to see Carol Lockwood when her hearing had picked up Damon's conversation with Sheriff Forbes and John Gilbert.<p>

"_There was a disturbance at the hospital blood bank last night; some of the supply was compromised."_ Sheriff Forbes told the other two.

Aliyah frowned, thinking that the tomb vampires were being very obvious if the Council was able to catch onto what they were up to. She rolled her eyes at the lack of ingenuity that came from young vampires. They had absolutely no finesse, no skill at getting what they wanted. They just went after what they wanted, with no thought of hiding their tracks.

"_Compromised? You mean stolen?" _Damon asked.

"_We almost missed it. The inventory records were altered but when the night manager was questioned he had no recollection of changing them."_

"_Meaning that the vampire who stole the blood used mind control to hide the theft."_ John clarified.

Aliyah rolled her eyes, her distaste for the man showing clearly on her face. _The arse thinks that he knows everything that there is about vampires because he's a part of an ménage a trois with Katerina and Isobel._

She could practically hear Damon scowl in response. She never thought that she and _Damon Salvatore_ of all people would have anything in common, but they did with their mutual hatred of John Gilbert – _the arrogant sod. _

"_I know what you meant." _Damon said, coldly.

"_We wouldn't have noticed had John not alerted us to recent discrepancies in other hospital blood banks in the county."_

Aliyah could practically _hear_ Damon roll his eyes. _"How lucky for us, we have John."_

"_We're stepping up security at the hospital, giving the guard vervain to prevent this from happening again."_

Aliyah smiled to herself, lucky that she had asked her men to deliver her blood bags from a few towns over, and never repeating the same town for a few years at the most. She hated drawing attention to herself, but everywhere she settled after 1925 had been with herself constantly on alert. She had never stayed in a place longer than a few months, for fear that Niklaus would find her if she stayed in a town too long. There had been a few times over the last eighty-five years that Niklaus had almost been able to catch her, but she had escaped in the nick of time.

But she needed to remember that the guard in front of the hospital had vervain on him. In case, she needed to use the hospital for something or another, it wouldn't do well for her not to be prepared.

"_Sheriff, may I offer a suggestion? Why don't Damon and I put our heads together? We can track down whoever is doing this."_ John told the Sheriff.

"_Truthfully I can use the extra hands. Is that something you would be willing to do?"_

"_Well, of course, I mean if it'll help."_ Damon said.

Aliyah smirked, being able to read Damon's disdain for the idea between his promising words. She smiled to herself, her sympathy for Damon disappearing as she realised that Damon hated the idea of working with John Gilbert, her annoyance for Damon outweighing her distaste for John currently. And any idea that had Damon chewing off at his own arm to avoid made her feel all warm and tingly inside.

"_I think we could make a good team, don't you think Damon?"_ John said.

"_John, whatever I can do to help keep this town safe; even if it means spending time with you."_

* * *

><p>"Okay, this week, we're gonna set outside our regular curriculum for a lesson in local history as we approach Founder's Day. Apparently, the community leaders feel it's more important than World War 2, but hey, what do I know?" Alaric rolled his eyes, clearly finding that the idea was stupid.<p>

It was then when Bonnie walked into his classroom, stunning everyone into silence with her reappearance. She hadn't been seen in public since her grandmother's funeral, having holed herself up in Aliyah's apartment for the past few weeks. Aliyah had asked her to come everywhere with her, but Bonnie had chosen to decline, not wanting to come into contact with anyone she knew right now, not when she was attempting to sort out her feelings about them.

"Sorry, I'm late." Bonnie murmured, not being able to rouse any enthusiasm to be back in this classroom.

"Well, it looks like we will be at full occupancy today. Welcome home, Bonnie." Alaric said, shooting her a smile.

Bonnie sat down in her usual seat and saw Elena smiling over at her, but when saw Stefan staring at her doing the same, she couldn't help but feel that familiar resentment welling up in her. She tried her hardest not to look at the girl who had been her best friend since the sandbox, and turned her head to face Alaric at the front of the room. Elena and Stefan looked at each other, not understanding exactly why Bonnie was acting like this.

She had listened to every single one of Elena's messages and then deleted them, having absolutely no patience for the brunette girl who had inadvertently caused her grandmother's death. She knew Elena was her friend, practically her sister, and she loved her, dearly, but she was still feeling a little annoyed that Elena had managed to go on with her life while she had been mourning her grandmother's death. Sure Aliyah had help stave off her grief, but she had drowned herself in it a few times over the last couple of weeks. Her Grams had been the only one who had ever chosen her, had been with her, no matter what, and suddenly she was gone and she was alone.

She supposed that was why she had latched onto Aliyah the way she had, feeling comfortable with the much older woman in a way that she hadn't managed with Stefan, despite his inherent kindness. With Stefan and Damon, it was hard to forget that they were monsters. But with Aliyah, even watching her stake one of those tomb vampires with a sudden viciousness, it was easy to remember that she used to be a witch, who had her life turned upside down when she was turned into a vampire. She wasn't inhuman and cruel like Damon, but having an innate darkness in her that she supposed everyone had, and she wasn't dishonest like Stefan. Aliyah knew she was a vampire and she didn't hide the fact. Instead, she chose to make Bonnie understand a little bit more of what it actually meant to be a vampire. A burning hunger, freedom and power, a limitless existence with loneliness worked into the mix.

It was almost poetic coming from her.

Aliyah had always been honest with her. About her intentions, her nature and her actions. She had never hid anything from her and instead shown her that knowledge was power and you couldn't have too much of it. Elena hadn't even told her that she had found her birth mother, let alone told her that the tomb vampires were out and about. She had gone on dating Stefan as if Sheila Bennett hadn't been put in the ground because of a vampire's obsession with a woman who was sleeping with his brother at the same time and had left him for dead over a century ago.

She hadn't ignored any of Caroline's calls. The blonde girl was such a breath of fresh air to Bonnie's gloom that she hadn't been able to. Instead, she had listened to all of Caroline's chatter about Matt, Miss Mystic Falls, Kelly Donovan, finding Vicki's body, with a small smile and an interested ear, glad for this slight bit of normalcy in her life. In fact, if anything, her Grams' death, as well as Aliyah's views on Caroline, had made Bonnie better appreciate Caroline as a friend, realising that maybe she had placed all of her eggs in one basket with Elena and had treated Caroline as if she were second best to her. And she wasn't. Caroline may be a bit insecure and neurotic, and definitely a Mean Girl when the situation called for it, she didn't know anything about vampires and witches and prison tombs except for her brief relationship with Damon, but Caroline was an inherently good person even if she didn't show it very often.

It was like Aliyah said, she had all of the time in the world to fix her relationships with her friend.

* * *

><p>"Thank you for inviting me over, Carol." Aliyah smiled at the middle-aged woman.<p>

"Oh, there's no problem." Carol waved off. She smiled, sweetly, at the younger woman. "I'm so glad you agreed to do this interview."

"Well, it would be lovely to talk to the woman behind Miss Mystic Falls." Aliyah smiled back, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "So, tell me about Miss Mystic Falls."

"Well, the first Miss Mystic Falls pageant was supposed to be held in 1864, but unfortunately, it was postponed due to the Battle of Willow Creek." Carol explained. "Soldiers fired at Fell's Church, killing 27 people in the process. It was a black day for Mystic Falls and the pageant was cancelled due to mourning period."

_Fell's Church. In 1864. Too much of a coincidence. This must have been when the Founding Families trapped the vampires in the tomb. Oh, this town has so many secrets. And only in the last century or so. I still think that the fact that this town is where the original vampires were created. Where the Original Hybrid was born and created. Where the Original Witch died and where three of the most powerful Bennett witches lived so much of their life._

"This year, the Founder's Court consists of Caroline Forbes, Tina Fell, Blair Fell, Elena Gilbert and Amber Bradley." Carol Lockwood said, reading off a piece of paper.

"So, mostly Founding Families?" Aliyah raised an eyebrow, recognising the pattern and resisting the urge to roll her eyes, the elitism of the woman in front of her irritating her.

"Well, we try and be as inclusive as possible." Carol said, nervously. "But you can probably see that only girls from Founding Families would really be interested in something like this."

"Oh, no, I can understand." Aliyah waved off. She held up her pad. "That's the reason why I'm writing this book. Maybe more girls will be interested if they understand how rewarding these traditions can be."

Carol Lockwood didn't look all that pleased by the possibility of girls from non-Founding Families being a part of the Founder's Court in future years, but she hid her distaste behind a cheap smile.

"So, as this year will be the hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Mystic Fall's founding, so this year's Founder's Court will have the opportunity to ride on one of the floats during our Founder's Day parade."

Aliyah smiled to herself, scribbling something on the pad.

She did love throwing people off their game.

* * *

><p>"You know, when I said that I was going to help you and your brother, I didn't mean that gave you free reign to call me <em>whenever<em> you want." Aliyah snapped. "I'm not your go-to girl when you or your brother inevitably screw up."

"But you're the one who wanted to help us." Damon pointed out.

Aliyah raised an eyebrow. "Yes… to _kill_ the tomb vampires. To protect my niece, many times removed, from the homicidal vampires who may want to get revenge on the descendant of the woman who trapped them inside a tomb. Not to hold your hand every time you piss off a vampire who is decades older than you. I know _you_ don't really have a sense of self-preservation, but I'd like to remember you that there are _other_ lives at stake here. Like your brother's, Elena's, Bonnie's, Caroline's. All of the other people who live here in Mystic Falls if you screw this up." She patted him on the shoulder, condescendingly.

"So, is there an actual reason why you called me here or do I have to guess?" She asked, coolly.

"Oh, come on, Morticia, you know you're falling for me. It's only inevitable that we would succumb to our growing sexual tension. You know, anger sex-"

Aliyah smiled, viciously. "Finish that sentence. I dare you. It's been so long since I've killed something. I really want blood on my hands and you'd be the perfect victim."

Damon sighed. "You're such a wet blanket." He shook his head. "Well, Anna, you know, Pearl's daughter, the little girl next to her back at the farmhouse. She's coming over."

Aliyah grimaced. "If this is some sort of sex thing, I swear…"

Damon smirked at her. "It's nice to know that your mind wanders to _that_, when you think of me and women. I am _that_ good."

Aliyah snorted. "Oh, Gods, it's like meeting the reincarnation of Casanova. You know, with less notches on his bedpost and a bigger ego."

Just then, someone rang the doorbell and Damon walked over to open the door, revealing the young teenage girl from the Gilbert kitchen who was drinking Jeremy's blood.

"I suppose I should be grateful, you learned how to use the bell." Damon said, dryly.

Anna faltered, slightly, seeing Aliyah stand in the living room as well. Her mother had been tight-lipped about who the strange woman was, but Anna had seen the flash of fear that had appeared on her mother's face, that night outside the farmhouse. The flash of fear was enough to make Anna wary of the woman in front of her. Her mother was over five centuries old, almost as old as Katherine, if her mother was afraid of this woman for some reason, then there was reason to be afraid. But she had to wonder what the connection between the Salvatore brothers and the woman was.

Anna shook her head, freeing her mind of those thoughts. "I'm here on behalf of my mother." She told them, stepping over the threshold.

Aliyah raised an eyebrow, not exactly pleased with Pearl's lack of control over the other tomb vampires. "On behalf of or in spite of?"

"I'm sorry about what the other vampires did to Stefan. Abducting him, torturing him… It wasn't supposed to go down like that." Anna apologised, sincerely.

"You're playing house with half of a tomb of really pissed off vampires. What do you think was going to happen?" Damon asked, incredulously.

"My mom is devastated; they tried to overthrow her." Anna told them.

"Is there any particular reason why _she_ isn't here telling us this?" Aliyah asked, coldly.

Anna shrugged. "She doesn't really do apologies."

Damon narrowed his eyes. "Well, it's a coincidence, 'cause I don't do forgiveness. Just run along. And if you're going continue playing house with these little vampires pets, you might wanna stop robbing the blood bank dry because they're onto it."

Anna shook her head. "I haven't been to the local blood bank in at least a week."

"Then, it's one of the other tomb vampires." Aliyah said, pointedly.

"The others are gone." Anna said, heatedly.

Aliyah tensed. It was never a good idea to have twenty-seven revenge-driven vampires loose on an unsuspecting town and too many of them had seen her. All it would take is one rumour from one of them that she was there, that the doppelganger was here, to bring Niklaus or Elijah to Mystic Falls, and she couldn't have that, not with Bonnie here as well.

"Well, where did they go?" Damon snapped.

Anna shrugged. "They weren't cut out for this town. After what happened with your brother my mom kicked them out and they took off. It's just us and Harper now."

* * *

><p>Bonnie was walking through halls, on her way to her locker, reading a stack of papers, so engrossed in what she had missed in the last few weeks that she completely missed Elena calling out her name as she ran after her.<p>

"Bonnie!" Elena shouted, attracting attention from others in the corridor.

Bonnie blinked and turned around, her eyes tightening at the side when she saw it was Elena who had called her name.

"Hey." She said, blandly.

"Hey, I tried to grab you after class but you already taken off. How are you? How's your dad?"

Bonnie pursed her lips. "We're dealing, it's been hard." She said, vaguely.

"And Aliyah?" Elena asked, softly, her doubt in the sincerity of the woman showing clearly in her voice.

Bonnie tensed. "Aliyah's fine. She went to see Mrs Lockwood today for an interview." She said, coolly.

Elena decided to drop that subject, resolving to bring Aliyah up to Bonnie at a later time. "Everyone here really missed you." She said, weakly.

"Yeah, I just had so much to deal with after Grams' funeral and honestly, after you told me the tomb spell failed, I just didn't really want to come back." Bonnie said, slowly.

"I hope that you understand why I called… I wanted you to know before you came home." Elena murmured.

"I understand why. I just… shouldn't know." Bonnie said.

There was an awkward pause, neither of them knowing what to say to each other as they looked at each other.

"I know it's been really hard…" Elena started.

That was when Caroline interrupted them.

"Bonnie! Bonnie! Thank god you're home!" Caroline exclaimed and threw her arms around a stunned Bonnie. "I know we talked everyday but I missed you."

Elena was startled by that information. She must have left countless messages on Bonnie's voicemail and Bonnie hadn't replied to a single one of them, yet she had the time to talk to Caroline everyday? She couldn't help but feel that this was Aliyah's fault. It seemed as though her relationship with Bonnie had changed, drastically, since Aliyah had swarmed into town, and she couldn't help but wonder if Aliyah had badmouthed her to Bonnie, making her turn against her. She had the perfect opportunity to do so. Bonnie had probably been mad already because of what had happened to Sheila and Aliyah had probably taken advantage of Bonnie's grief to turn Bonnie against her.

"How are you doing?" Caroline asked, perkily.

Bonnie laughed, softly. "Better. Better."

"Oh, hey," Caroline's eyes widened as she remembered something. "I met your cousin at the Bachelor Raffle. She's gorgeous, Bonnie. How come you didn't mention her to us before?"

Bonnie rubbed the back of her neck, sheepishly. "Well, we didn't meet up a lot. Only whenever I went over to my aunt's place, and I don't go there very often. But after my Grams' funeral, Aliyah dropped everything and came down to Mystic Falls to spend some time with me. She said we're 'bonding'." She chuckled, remembering how excited Aliyah had been when she and Bonnie had their first girl's night, all movies and pizza and pyjamas and Aliyah had even managed to turn the other cheek when Bonnie took a few swigs of her whiskey.

"She seems really nice, Bonnie." Caroline said, sincerely, remembering how the nice woman had comforted her after her disastrous encounter with Kelly Donovan. "I think she's been good for you."

Bonnie smiled to herself, thinking of brunette who had become a whirlwind in her life and made her question everything she previously thought. "She has." She said, honestly. "She's been really good at keeping me busy and not letting everything overwhelm me."

"Well, I can help with that. Major wardrobe problem. You need to help me pick up the perfect dress for the Founder's Court." Caroline told Bonnie.

Elena perked up at that. "The Founder's Court? Did I miss something?" She asked Caroline.

Caroline simply stared at Elena as if she had just crawled out from under a rock. "The Founder's Court! You know, Miss Mystic Falls. They announced it today and you and I are both on it." She said, slowly, as if she were talking to a small child.

Elena's eyes widened, her eyes glazing over as she reminisced. "Oh, my God! We signed up for that so long ago… I completely forgot." She shook her head.

"So, are you dropping out then?" Caroline asked, barely being able to hide her enthusiasm for the idea.

Elena cursed under her breath, half wanting to drop out. There was just too many things going on right now, and Miss Mystic Falls seemed like the thing that should be the last on her list. But she couldn't.

"I can't." She grimaced, looking at Bonnie and knowing that she knew exactly why she couldn't drop out of the competition.

"No?" Caroline raised an eyebrow, feeling herself deflate inside. Now, she would never win the pageant. There was no way she was going to be able to able to win against Elena Gilbert of all people.

Bonnie pursed her lips and turned to Caroline. "Her mom is the one who wanted her to enter." She explained, watching as realisation dawned in Caroline's eyes.

* * *

><p>"Well, you look marginally better than the last time I saw you." Aliyah commented, as she walked down the steps of the Salvatore Boarding House, meeting Stefan on her way out.<p>

Stefan looked at her and then looked at the house and then looked at her again. "Are you sleeping with my brother?" He asked, bluntly.

Aliyah threw her head back and laughed. "Now, that is the funniest thing I have heard in a very long time." She wiped the tears from her eyes. "Broody, I'm more likely to tear your brother's heart out than sleep with him. I'd rather drown myself in vervain than let his diseased self touch me." She watched him, carefully. "You've drunk human blood recently, haven't you?" She asked, knowingly.

Stefan crossed his arms over his chest. "What of it?" He asked, defensively.

"Well, you look different. Less Edward Cullen and more the Count from Sesame Street." Aliyah commented with a bright, teasing smile.

"And you think it's because of the human blood." Stefan shook his head.

"It is, Broody." Aliyah said, pointedly. "You've spent your entire vampire existence like you've been on a _constant_ drug crash. And suddenly, you drink human blood and you're all happy-go-lucky? You still not seeing the connection, here?"

"It's not what you think." Stefan said, sharply, and pushed past her, up the stairs and into the Boarding House.

* * *

><p>"Darling, we need to stop meeting like this." Damon teased as he and John approached Aliyah at the Grill, where she was sitting in one of the booths, drinking a glass of bourbon and nipping at her cheese fries.<p>

"Oh, my God. At first, it was only Tweedledum here," Aliyah gestured to Damon. "But now, it seems I've got another stray chasing after me now." She crooned, eyeing John Gilbert with dark, furious eyes. "Tweedledum, what part of 'leave me the fuck alone' do you _not_ understand?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Well, he said he wanted to discuss something with me and I thought it best to bring him to you first." Damon smirked.

"How thoughtful." Aliyah snarked. "What do you want?" She asked John, impatiently, eager to get back to her lunch.

"Where do we start looking for vampires?" John asked, taking a seat opposite to Aliyah, while Damon sat next to her, much to her displeasure.

"Why should I care?" Aliyah raised an eyebrow. "I have better things to think about than to catch a bunch of rowdy vampires."

"And you obviously don't care about catching vampires, you're here talking to us." Damon said, pointedly, steeling one of Aliyah's cheese fries. He then growled in pain, when she slammed her silver fork right into his nearest hand, slicing through bone and flesh and blood.

"Actually, I care very much." John said, loftily.

"What would Isobel say about that? I mean, considering that she is one." Damon smirked.

"Isobel and I share a mutual interest. The original Jonathan Gilbert has an invention that was stolen by a vampire. That vampire was then burned alive in Fell's church, or so Jonathan thought and the invention was lost forever. But then the vampires weren't killed, were they? They were trapped and now they're free, thanks to you which means the invention is retrieval." John said, narrowing his eyes at them.

Aliyah started laughing, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, but how and why would this concern me? I'm not really interested in your Hardy Boys mission. I don't really care about your whole 'Founding Families are really vampire hunters' shtick."

"What is this invention anyway?" Damon asked, interested.

"The only thing that matters is that I want it back and you're going to help me if you want your secret safe." John threatened.

Aliyah raised an eyebrow, inwardly laughing at the thought of the arrogant sod actually having the _gall_ to threaten her.

"Why bring me into it, John?" Damon asked, curiously, leaning back in his seat. "I mean, I don't know what you are talking about much less who has it."

"Oh, come on, Damon! You were around back then, you know who these people are, what they look like. He was friendly with a woman who turned out to be a vampire. Her name was Pearl. Does that ring a bell?" John smirked, knowingly.

"Okay, that's enough testosterone." Aliyah snapped. She crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm kind of tired of playing games with the two of you. It's boring me. You should really leave before I start to get angry and start killing things… starting with you two." She said, coldly.

"I beg your pardon?" John raised an eyebrow.

She turned to look at Damon. "Let me guess, the only reason you're entertaining his little blackmail scheme is because you think that he and Isobel can lead you to Katherine, but, trust me, the bitch would never let anyone know where she is. And this moron has absolutely no clue where she is, Tweedledum, because if he did, he would know that Katherine and Pearl were best friends." She turned to look at John after sufficient realization had dawned in Damon's eyes. "See, you don't know everything, do you, John?" She asked, innocently.

"I'll tell the entire council what you both are." John threatened, realizing that he was losing his control over the entire situation.

Damon snorted. "Go for it! I'll kill every last one of them. Then I'll sever your hand, pull your ring off, and I'll kill you too. Do you understand that?"

Aliyah's phone buzzed and she looked down at it. "Well, that's my cue to leave. I really do hope I don't see you too soon."

With that exit, she left the Grill, on her way to Mystic Falls High School to pick Bonnie up.

* * *

><p>Caroline and Bonnie were in the hallway.<p>

"The Fell cousins don't have a shot and Amber Bradley is only on the court so the pageant doesn't look like its founding families only, which of course it is. So that leaves Elena, who totally has the sympathy vote since her parents died. How can I compete with that?" Caroline complained, pressing herself against the lockers.

Bonnie shook her head, remembering exactly how Caroline was. "Very nice, very sensitive." She said, dryly.

Caroline closed her eyes, realizing how tactless her words must have sounded. "Oh, I'm sorry, this must sound really unimportant. In light of everything." She said, slowly.

Bonnie smiled, softly. "It's okay, I get it, you want to win." She said, knowingly, remembering how ecstatic both Caroline and Elena had been when they had signed up for the Miss Mystic Court last year.

Caroline shrugged. "Well, my grandmother was Miss Mystic and both of my aunts. My mom is the only one who didn't get the gene and I want this. I actually deserve this."

They entered the room where all of the other contestants were practicing the dance. Bonnie saw Elena and Stefan leaving the room and had the sudden urge to run away as fast as she could and wait for Aliyah to come and pick her up outside in the hedges, not willing to go through this confrontation just yet.

"Bonnie. Hey." Elena gave her a hesitant smile.

Stefan looked at Bonnie and his eyes softened, smiling at her. "Hey, how are you?"

Bonnie bit her lip, afraid if she opened her mouth, everything that she had been burning to say since her grandmother had died would spill out. It was this silence that made both Elena and Stefan realize that there was definitely something wrong with Bonnie.

"I begged Bonnie to fill in for Matt, he had to work today." Caroline said, cheerfully, sensing the tension between the other three.

Elena looked at Bonnie and decided to go ahead. "Bonnie, do you have a minute?"

"We only have thirty minutes for rehearsal." Bonnie pointed out.

"It'll only take a minute, please?" Elena begged.

Bonnie nodded, reluctantly, and the two walked out of the room.

Elena rounded on Bonnie. "Bonnie, you have to tell me what's wrong." She pleaded.

Bonnie shook her head, not believing that this was the right time to get into it. "It's not worth talking about."

Elena raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean not worth it? You barely said ten words to me and you won't even look at Stefan. Is that what it is? Is it Stefan?"

Bonnie gritted her teeth. "Listen, Elena, I can't just pretend that everything's okay. Everything my Grams did was to protect us from those vampires in the tomb. And now they're out which means she died for nothing." She said, pointedly.

Elena bit her lip. "I'm so sorry Bonnie. What can I do to make it better?" She asked, helplessly.

Bonnie smiled, sadly. "That's just it, there's nothing you can do. I blame him, Elena, him and Damon, and I'm not gonna put you in a situation where you have to choose sides. I'm just having a hard time with it, okay?" _Not to mention, I'm feeling a bit annoyed that you managed to go on with your life after your boyfriend's brother practically murdered my grandmother._

"Is this Aliyah? Has Aliyah been telling you things?" Elena asked, awkwardly.

Bonnie scowled. "No, she hasn't. Contrary to popular belief, Aliyah hasn't done anything to me. She's been really good to me since my Grams died, Elena. She's protected him and she's helped with my powers. I get that she doesn't get along with you, Stefan and Damon, but she genuinely wants to help _me_."

"But, you're so against vampires, Bonnie. How can you be okay with _her_?" Elena spat, suddenly angry that everything around her was changing so abruptly. "She's not a good person, Bonnie. She hurts people. You should have seen the way she killed those tomb vampires. She can hurt you easily."

"Yeah, you're right. She can hurt me easily." Bonnie nodded. "Do you know my magic doesn't work on her?" Elena looked startled. "Her mother apparently put a protection spell on her. It prevents her from being harmed by a witch. She's had all of this time to hurt me. I've literally been staying over at her place and she's had a thousand chances to kill me, and she hasn't. I have to give her the benefit of the doubt. I did when you started dating Stefan and I was even willing to help all of you open the tomb. Aliyah's my friend, not to mention, she's my family and she's helped me a lot, Elena. Especially when you were too bothered with Stefan and Damon to give a damn about me in the last couple of weeks." She spat.

Elena shook her head. "That's not fair, Bonnie. I left you messages-" She argued.

"Yeah, like three." Bonnie rolled her eyes, her inner anger coming out easily. "Caroline called me everyday. Aliyah sat down and talked to me every time I started crying. My own dad couldn't be bothered to come down after my Grams died, but Aliyah's been there since Grams' funeral. She's plied me with ice cream and we've watched movies and we worked through my magic together. She's my friend and she's been there for me. If you're going to complain about her, do it to Stefan and Damon, not to me." Bonnie sighed when she saw the tears rush into Elena's eyes and immediately felt bad.

"Look, I'm sorry Elena, I didn't mean to be so harsh. I just have a hard time about people questioning me about Aliyah. It's my choice, not yours." Bonnie shrugged. "Look, I don't want you to choose between me and Stefan, you should respect that and ask me not to choose between you and Aliyah. Like it or not, you both are on the same side."

Elena sighed. "She's the one that doesn't like me, Bonnie." She pointed out.

Bonnie nodded. "You're right and that isn't fair to you. But I've always defended you to her. She's had it bad with Katherine, Elena. She doesn't want to get hurt again. You should be able to respect that. Just give her some time and she'll warm up to you, once she realises that you're nothing like Katherine." She bit her lip. "We should probably go back inside."

* * *

><p>When Aliyah picked Bonnie up after the rehearsal, neither of them talked while she drove up to the renovation site until Aliyah found herself sick of the silence.<p>

"Okay, you wanna tell me what's wrong?" Aliyah asked, glancing at Bonnie through the corner of her eye.

"Elena and I had a bit of a confrontation today." Bonnie sighed.

Aliyah nodded. She looked at Bonnie through the mirror, hesitantly. "But you were probably expecting that, weren't you? I mean, you weren't answering her messages. She _was_ going to talk to you about it, wasn't she?" She said, slowly.

"Yeah, but," Bonnie huffed. "I find it hard to talk to her around Stefan. I see him and I just angry, Lee-Lee. It's like my Grams is dead and he and Damon just go around walking, as if nothing happened. Elena too! It's not fair." She said, quietly.

Aliyah nodded, twisting the wheel, sharply, as she made a right. "You're right, it isn't fair. But as I recall, you were the one who wanted me to keep them alive. Say the word and they die now. I can assure you, Elena's life will only be better without them in it."

"No." Bonnie shook her head. "If you killed them because of me, Elena would never forgive me and I do still care about her a lot. I just need time before I can deal with Stefan." She paused. "We started arguing about you too."

"Let me guess, I'm brainwashing you to believe that Stefan and Damon are evil and Elena is the cause of all the problems in your life. I won't deny that the last one is true," She ignored Bonnie's glare. "But I don't have to stoop down to brainwashing to make you believe it. You'll see it in time." Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"I told her that if I'm not making her choose between me and Stefan, she shouldn't make me choose between you and her. You've been really good to me since my Grams died and it wasn't fair of her to just blame you like that." Bonnie said, quietly.

Aliyah softened when she heard that. She reached over and patted Bonnie's knee. "Thanks for that, Bonnie girl. You didn't have to defend me like that."

Bonnie shook her head. "You're my friend and you're my family, Lee-Lee. The least I can do after everything you've done is defend you to Elena. But," She hesitated. "Can I ask you a favour?"

"Depends on what it is." Aliyah said, cautiously.

"Can you just give Elena a chance?" Bonnie said, quickly.

"Bonnie," Aliyah sighed. "I told you before, didn't I? I don't hate Elena, far from it, actually. I feel quite sorry for her. She doesn't deserve the life she's had. But you don't understand yet. Her existence makes life complicated for a lot of people, including you. I don't object to her, per se, I object to what she stands for. There are a lot of people that can get hurt because of her, and life would be so much simpler if she didn't exist. It's not that I look at her and see Katherine, I don't." _I see Tatia. _"I just see another high school girl, but with my experiences, I have to be wary around a doppelganger, because I've known them to hurt people I care about." She pursed her lips, feeling herself soften around the young girl, wondering what it was about the witch that made her so damn gentle. "But for you, I'll give her chance. I'm not going to tell you that I'll love her immediately. But I'll try my best to stop insulting her when I see her. Will that please you?" Aliyah asked.

Bonnie nodded. She stared out of the dashboard. "So, where is this place, anyway?" She asked, curiously.

"Closer to the boundary of Mystic Falls." Aliyah told her. "I thought we could do with some privacy."

They finally came up some windy road covered by trees on either side. It was then that Bonnie could see the long, winding stone driveway that led to a large house smack dab in the middle of the trees. Bonnie's eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she saw the lavish three-storey house, a mixture of black wood and mahogany on the outside. Glass doors and windows encompassed the entire thing and she had the feeling that if it were night, then the entire house would be bathed in a golden glow. On the right hand side of the house was a sit out, accompanied by a real-life fire pit. She could see the construction workers renovating as they drove up the driveway. Finally, right in front of the house, Aliyah stopped the car and motioned for Bonnie to get out.

"So, what do you think?" Aliyah asked, hesitantly.

"How do you _afford_ all of this?" Bonnie asked, confused. "I mean, you have this spectacular penthouse apartment, and now you have this freaking mansion in the woods. Isn't it expensive?"

Aliyah shrugged. "I'm old, Bonnie girl. Over the years, I've been able to accumulate quite the nest egg."

"How much?" Bonnie asked, interested.

"Well, let's just say that I could buy a house like this every day for around a century and I'd just be spending petty cash." Aliyah said.

Bonnie's eyes widened. "Oh, okay, wow." She said, stunned.

"So, do you like it?" Aliyah asked.

"It's lovely, Lee-Lee. Is there a swimming pool?" Bonnie asked, excitedly.

Aliyah bit her lip and nodded. "At the back. And there's a hot tub on one of the balconies and Jacuzzis in the bathrooms."

"This is amazing, Aliyah. It's awesome." Bonnie whispered, staring up at the house with awe. "And it's all for us?"

Aliyah nodded with a smile.

"Thanks, Aliyah." Bonnie murmured.

* * *

><p>Aliyah and Bonnie, wearing a dark beaded dress that came to the middle of her thighs, her dark brown hair out and curled just past her shoulders, arrived at the Founder's Hall on the day of the pageant and Bonnie excused herself, citing that she was going to go and find Caroline. Aliyah nodded and made her way to the servers, carrying trays of golden, bubbly champagne, and helped herself to a glass, sipping at the delicious liquid, standing by herself to the side. She had her camera stuffed in her bag, some Nikon thing that Bonnie had suggested for her ruse as a photojournalist. She thought she would observe the festivities for a little while before heading on up to take photos of what exactly was going on.<p>

"You in the running for Miss Mystic Falls?" Damon's voice came from behind her and she grimaced.

Aliyah looked down at her tight, black dress that was covered in sequins until her waist, shaping into a leather belt and then fell to her knees in smooth satin. She wore tall, black pumps and a myriad of silver bracelets on one of her wrists, as well as long earrings. Her hair was soft and curly, falling to the middle of her back, and her makeup was done to perfection, dark eyeliner and red lipstick.

"Well, I am a hotshot, big-city photojournalist, I have to look the part." Aliyah pointed out.

Anna strode up to them. "I remember this event from 1864, I was supposed to enter before everything happened."

"Ah," Damon sighed. "Nostalgia's a bitch."

"If you're just going to be a prick, you can move along." Aliyah said, sharply.

Damon turned to Anna. "John Gilbert thinks your mom stole an artefact from Jonathan Senior back in 1864."

"What are you, his errand boy?" Anna raised an eyebrow, making Aliyah smirk.

Damon shrugged. "I don't know what it is but I don't want him to have it."

"I could ask her, but you know, you've made it pretty clear that you don't trust us so why should I even bother?" Anna smirked.

"Because you want to stay in Mystic Falls and John Gilbert's in town, making that impossible. Find out where it is. He leaves, you can buy a welcome mat."

"With that, I think I'm gonna leave. This conversation's boring me." Aliyah said and walked away, pulling her camera out of her bag.

She strode into the Founder's Hall, finding Carol Lockwood standing off to one side, surrounded by a number of people and clutching a clipboard to her chest.

"Aliyah!" Carol called out and waved her over. Aliyah walked over with a dark smile and kissed both of her cheeks as a hello. "There you are! Have any idea where you'll start today?"

She held up her camera. "I got a few photos of the outside. I was thinking I'd get some pictures of the pageant contestants. Do you mind?" She asked, gesturing up the stairs to where the dressing rooms were.

"No. No problem at all. Go ahead." Carol encouraged.

With a smile to Carol and a nod to the others, she walked up the stairs and knocked on the first dressing room. Bonnie answered the door and stared at her for a second.

"What are you doing here?" Bonnie asked, confused.

She held up the Nikon. "Have to use this sometime." She muttered so that only Bonnie could hear. "Come on, let me in. I need to get some pictures of Caroline. Is she ready?"

Bonnie frowned. "Can you even take pictures?"

"I've been around for a very long time. It makes sense that I've taken a photography lesson once or twice in my day." She hissed. "Now let me in before Carol Lockwood comes in and finds out that I'm just trying to screw her over."

Bonnie rolled her eyes and opened the door. "Caroline, look who's here."

Aliyah walked in to find Caroline Forbes standing in front of the mirror, wearing a strapless green dress that fell to the floor, her blonde hair wavy and falling to her shoulders. The girl turned around and smiled, nervously, at Aliyah.

"Oh, hi, Aliyah. What's up?" Caroline smiled at the older woman.

"Well, I came to wish you luck and to see if I could take your picture." Aliyah said, holding up her camera. "I don't know if Bonnie told you, but I'm writing a book on the traditions in Mystic Falls. I'd love to have your photo."

Caroline's eyes widened and she blushed, preening slightly. "Oh, wow, yeah, that'd be great."

Caroline walked over to the window and Aliyah knelt on the floor, holding up the camera and making sure it was focused on Caroline, before she snapped the photo. She took a few more, with Bonnie and Caroline, a few with just Bonnie and just Caroline, before she wished Caroline luck and said her goodbyes. She walked over to the next door and knocked. She was surprised to find that Jenna answered the door and guessed that this must be Elena's dressing room. Jenna was wearing a one shoulder, dark grey silk dress, with her hair pinned over one shoulder.

"Hey, Jenna." She leaned in and kissed the blonde woman and both of her cheeks. She showed Jenna the camera. "If you guys aren't too busy, would you mind me taking your picture?"

Jenna's eyes widened and she smiled, widely. "No. No problem at all."

She walked in and Elena stood there, wearing a halter-neck, royal blue dress that fell to the floor, dipping low in the front, her brown hair pinned by bejewelled pins behind her, falling in soft curls down her back.

"Wow, Elena, you look beautiful." Aliyah gushed, being as sincere as possible. She could appreciate Elena's beauty, but it didn't do anything for her after she had seen the same face on two other women.

"Thanks." Elena smiled, shyly, still not knowing what to make of the woman.

"If you're ready, do you mind if I take your picture for my book?" Aliyah asked, slowly.

"No. Absolutely not." Elena smiled.

Elena posed and Aliyah too a few pictures of her. She asked Jenna to pose along with Elena, and Aliyah took those too with a smile on her face.

"Aliyah, if you're done with the other contestants, would you like to join Alaric and me downstairs?" Jenna asked.

"Oh, I'd love that." Aliyah grinned and they walked down together, their arms hooked in each other's, Aliyah conveniently forgetting the other three contestants.

* * *

><p>"Miss Elena Gilbert, escorted by Mister Stefan Salvatore." Mayor Lockwood intoned.<p>

Aliyah watched as Damon desperately searched for Stefan, inwardly hiding a groan of annoyance, wondering if this was the point where Stefan snapped and became Niklaus' favourite pet, the Ripper. While Aliyah hadn't relished Stefan's bloodlust the way Niklaus had, back in the 1920s, she did have a measure of affection for him as a man that Rebekah loved.

After losing her mother and her brother, being exiled as a witch, her in-laws were her only family, and while there had been much tension between Elijah and Niklaus, the centuries they had spent together had allowed them to form a bond, Rebekah and Kol quickly forgetting that Aliyah was not their real sister but treating her as such. Rebekah's lack of a maternal figure in her life after Esther's death, coupled with the changes that their newfound vampirism brought, had made Rebekah look to Aliyah in a maternal sense. Rebekah and her had always been close. They had been best friends since Rebekah was born, Aliyah helping out Esther with the children once they were born, despite the seven-year age difference between them. Then, Aliyah had become Rebekah's sister-in-law and her respect for Aliyah had only grown until they became vampires. There had been an initial fallout after that, but Rebekah and her had quickly come back together and many times after that, she would be the one to shield Rebekah from Niklaus' anger.

Rebekah had taken to Stefan in a way that she hadn't considered possible. After losing Marcel in New Orleans, she thought Rebekah was entirely too broken-hearted to find another man. But the moment that the blonde had laid her eyes on the Ripper of Monterey, she had been lost and Niklaus had been forced to accept the much younger vampire into their ranks. Niklaus had delighted in the way that Stefan seemed to decapitate and murder his victims as he drank their blood, but Aliyah had never been able to revel in the feed the way they did. She didn't like mess, even as a human, and that had transferred to the way she took her victims. She preferred the seductive pull of nipping at her victims and watching as their faces contorted in pleasure, sharing her girls and boys with Niklaus and watching as his eyes devoured her body, finally settling on the sweet blood pooling in her mouth, before he would growl and take her against the wall like an animal.

It was the greatest form of power.

To have the Original Hybrid drown with pleasure in her arms.

Elena slowly came down the stairs and looked for Stefan, but she couldn't find him anywhere. Damon quickly strode over to the bottom of the staircase and took Stefan's place to escort her. Aliyah watched as Elena smiled at him and Damon took her hand, leading her out of the Founder's Hall and outside, past Jenna, Alaric, Aliyah and Bonnie, to where the other girls and their escorts were.

"What is she doing with Damon?" Jenna asked them, quietly.

Aliyah pursed her lips. "I have no idea." She muttered in disapproval.

_And the cycle begins again. So much for Elena being different from the other Petrova doppelgangers._

They watched as the girls and their escorts began to dance and Aliyah narrowed her eyes when she saw Elena and Damon dancing and smiling at each other.

She felt a stab of reminiscence, remembering how many parties she, Niklaus, Elijah, Kol and Rebekah had been to over the years. Some of them had ended with bloodshed, with Niklaus losing control of his anger and killing half of the guests, leaving her and Elijah, as the only sensible ones in the family, to compel the other half, or with Kol losing control in general and slaughtering all of the humans.

_The most rewarding part of the night had to be walking down those stairs and meeting Niklaus at the bottom, him looking at her as if he had never seen her before in his life. His eyes were awed and hushed and he stared at her as if she were the sun and the moon and stars all rolled into one perfect package. Centuries after their marriage and she couldn't help but feel pride that she still had this sort of affect on him. _

_She wore an azure dress with intricate white embroidery across the neckline, under the best and the on the hemline, with sliced sleeves leaving her toffee-coloured skin bare. Her hair was done in a curly updo with diamond pins worked into the strands. She wore simple earrings, not too long and not too flashy and a simple silver necklace._

_He took her hands in his and raised them to his lips, pressing sweet kisses on her knuckles._

"_Oh, my love, has there ever been anything in the world more beautiful than you?" He whispered against her skin._

_And she smiled at him._

_But there was something to be said about going to one of these balls, back when the idea was still so new in their minds, having spent their lives in a small village, living in huts, and now they were being invited to the ball of one of the richest noblemen in the district. She was sure that Niklaus was feeling some measure of pride for that accomplishment, delighting in hers and Rebekah's excitement and knowing that he was the one to give it to them. _

_The night was a wonder, not much different to the many other balls they had been to. They drank wine and ate food and smiled at everyone, Aliyah keeping a tight hold on Niklaus' arm before he tore into the throat of every man who was eyeing her._

"_You will dance with me." Niklaus ordered._

_Aliyah rolled her eyes. "If you express that as more of a request than an order, then I will, of course, acquiesce."_

_Niklaus took one of her hands and led her over to the dance floor. They faced one side and Niklaus' left hand took her left hand and stretched them out in front of them. His right arm wrapped around her waist, his hand coming to slide across her hip, and hers came to cover his. They stalked forwards, hopping once for every three steps they took. They wrapped their arms around each others' waists and swayed to the music, twirling around in a circle. Finally, Aliyah's right hand came to hold Niklaus' left hand over their heads, both of them taking a step back from each other and coming to together, bowing as they approached each other._

_The dance ended with Niklaus' arms wrapped around her lithe waist, Aliyah's hands on his shoulders, his nose dipping down to graze the length of her neck._

_Aliyah laughed and played with the ends of his shoulder-length hair._

"_Are you happy, hellcat?" Niklaus asked her, quietly, a sudden vulnerability in his eyes that he hadn't expressed to her in so many centuries._

"_I would only ever be unhappy if you ever stopped loving me." Aliyah said, sweetly, pressing a warm kiss to the underside of his jaw._

"_I would descend into hell before that would happen." Niklaus vowed. Then, he smirked. "And I am immortal, my love."_

* * *

><p>Aliyah and Bonnie watched as all of the girls stood on the stage, one of them missing, as Mayor Lockwood arrived to announce the winner.<p>

"Before I crown the winner, I'd like to offer a personal thank you to all of these young ladies for their efforts to better our community."

Aliyah clapped, politely.

"So, without further a due it is my honour to announce our very own Miss Mystic Falls, Miss Caroline Forbes!"

Aliyah watched as Caroline's mouth dropped in surprise and she cheered along with Bonnie and everyone else, the former beaming up at her best friend, as the Mayor crowed her Miss Mystic Falls and placed the banner around her shoulders.

* * *

><p>"Okay, so now might be the time to tell you that Stefan's been having some trouble with his bloodlust." Aliyah muttered to Bonnie in hushed tones.<p>

"What do you mean?" Bonnie asked, frowning.

"Well, he drinks animal blood. Noble concept, but impractical in the long run. It's in a vampire's nature to feed on humans, Bonnie. If you hold yourself from it for too long, the hunger becomes too much. So, you gorge. You go on a blood binge and you can't bring yourself back from it." She shook her head. "I've seen it happen before. It's not pretty… for the vampire or for their victim." She said, darkly.

Bonnie gestured to Elena and Damon, who seemed in the midst of a heated conversation. "What are they saying?"

Aliyah let her senses reach out towards Damon and Elena, hearing their voices become clearer.

"That Amber girl is missing and there were signs of a struggle in the bathroom. They think that Stefan was the one to take her." Aliyah muttered to Bonnie and watched as the witch's face hardened.

"What do we do?" Bonnie asked her, quietly and coldly.

"Well, this is probably the best time to see if you can take down a vampire." Aliyah said, dryly. "We have to put him down. Not kill him, but incapacitate him long enough so that we can put him somewhere where he won't hurt anyone."

Bonnie nodded, determinedly. "What do we do?"

"You have to use the aneurism spell on him, immediately. Once he's sufficiently weakened, I'll snap his neck. You okay with that?" Aliyah looked at Bonnie.

Bonnie nodded and they followed after Damon and Elena.

* * *

><p>Aliyah and Bonnie made their way into the woods and were stunned at the scene they came up on. They watched as Stefan's face transformed, his eyes swirling black, the veins under his eyes rising and his fangs elongated. They watched as he tore into the blonde victim's throat, the girl screaming as he did so.<p>

"Stefan!" Elena shouted, horrified.

Stefan released Amber, the blood dripping from his mouth and pooling on the ground.

"Stefan, come on, get control." Damon approached him, slowly, as if he were approaching a skittish animal. "It's okay, come on. Breath through it, man." He said, reassuringly.

Stefan grabbed Damon, his face burning with anger, and threw him against the tree. Damon jumped to his feet and was ready to lunge at Stefan again.

"Stefan, stop it!" Elena exclaimed.

Aliyah rolled her eyes. _Oh, yeah, because that's going to do so much._

"Now, Bonnie." Aliyah said, coldly, her voice brooking no argument.

Bonnie's eyes narrowed in concentration, her gaze intent on Stefan, as the magic fluttered around her. She shoved as much of her magic as she could in Stefan's direction, and watched with just the slightest bit of pleasure as Stefan gripped his head in pain, Bonnie popping each of the blood vessels in his brain in a continuous action. Stefan sank to the ground from the pain and Aliyah knew this was the perfect opportunity. One moment she was standing next to Bonnie, and the next, she was standing right behind Stefan. She gripped both sides of his head with her hands and twisted, sharply, hearing the telltale crack of his neck snapping.

Stefan fell to the ground, his eyes closed and seemingly dead, his entire body limp.

Aliyah regarded Damon and Elena, coldly. "Get him somewhere safe, where he can't hurt anyone." She warned. "If he doesn't get better, I will kill him."

* * *

><p>"She doesn't remember what happened." Sheriff Forbes told Elena, Bonnie and Aliyah.<p>

Damon nodded. "It's a good thing the girls got here when they did, she lost a lot of blood."

The sheriff looked at Bonnie, Aliyah and Elena. "You didn't see anything?"

There was a long pause and Elena and Damon wondered if Bonnie would choose to out Stefan to the council now. When she didn't say anything, Elena breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the sheriff.

"No, we just found her and then called Damon." She said, innocently.

Bonnie pursed her lips. "Is she gonna be okay?" She asked, worriedly.

"It looks like it, yeah. Why don't you girls get back to the party? Damon and I can take it from here." Sheriff Forbes said, reassuringly.

Elena nodded. "Okay."

She, Bonnie and Aliyah left, the latter giving Damon an inconspicuous nod.

* * *

><p>Aliyah slid into the driver's seat of the car and waited for Bonnie to join her, watching through the rear-view mirror as Elena approached.<p>

"Bonnie, can we talk about this?" Elena pleaded, tears coming to her eyes as the terror that she may lose one of her best friends struck her in the heart.

Bonnie shook her head, staring at Elena, sadly. Seeing what she had seen here today had only reinforced what she felt towards Elena and Stefan and Damon. Stefan was a monster, there was no doubt about it. How could Elena go on dating him as if there was nothing wrong?

"There's nothing to talk about." She said, slowly.

"Bonnie, please!" Elena whispered.

"I told you I wasn't gonna make you choose, but I need to make the choice for myself. Please just leave me alone." Bonnie said, quietly, sliding into the car and shutting the door behind her, ignoring the way that Elena's face fell.

Aliyah pursed her lips and looked at Bonnie. "Buckle up, Bonnie girl." She said, quietly.

And she turned the key in the ignition and drove away.

* * *

><p>"Do you want to talk about it?" Aliyah asked Bonnie, quietly, both of them lounging on Aliyah's bed.<p>

"Was I too harsh?" Bonnie whispered, her voice muffled by the pillow that she was clutching to her chest.

Aliyah clucked her tongue, not sure of how to answer the question. "I think… you're at that time in your life where you have a make a decision that suits your life. You love Elena, she's your friend, that's wonderful, but if you need more time, there's nothing wrong with taking it." She said, reassuringly. "Stefan and Damon are vampires, Bonnie girl. People die around them and you've experienced that first hand. Your relationship with Elena doesn't have to deteriorate but it may be hard to keep up the same level it used to be with Stefan and Damon around as constant reminders. That being said, you have a right to be angry, but you don't want to get around to a point where anger is all you have left, Bonnie." She said, quietly and meaningfully, her eyes glazing over. "That's not a life, Bonnie."

"You think I should forgive Elena." Bonnie said, quietly.

"No, I think you should do what _you_ feel is right. If you feel like you need more time, then I think you're justified. But your relationship with Elena doesn't have to cease to exist just because Stefan and Damon are now in the picture. Bonnie, it's not a crime to need space from everything. You've experienced a lot in the last couple of months, but you shouldn't isolate yourself. Give it some time and then go hash it out with Elena, okay. Don't worry about it right now. Just rest, darling." She said, soothingly.

Bonnie let Aliyah wrap her arms around her and she leaned down, resting her head against her shoulder, feeling the older woman's warmth surround her, comfortingly. She breathed in Aliyah's familiar scent of rose and jasmine and allowed it to lull her into slumber, feeling her eyes drift close. She felt Aliyah's hand come up to stroke her hair and she felt the tears falling onto Aliyah's skin, too exhausted to do anything about it.

* * *

><p>That night, Aliyah stepped out for a breath of fresh air and tensed when she heard someone watching her. She waited for a moment and spun on her feet, lunging for them with practiced ease and pinning them to the wall by one hand, crushing their windpipe.<p>

"Easy, there." Damon wheezed, both of his hands clutching around the fingers that were wrapped around his throat.

"What do you want?" Aliyah snarled, every single bit of her patience for the day completely disappeared. She had seen enough today not to trust the Salvatore brothers. They were wild cards. Either one would snap any time.

"Pearl gave me the device John was looking for." Damon groaned through the pain.

"What does that have to do with me?" Aliyah hissed, her nails digging into his skin and tearing.

"There's two of them. One of them is a pocket watch where the stile will point at a vampire. Pearl gave me the other, but we don't know what it does." Damon's fingers tore at her wrist, but she did not let up on her grip.

Finally, after a few moments, she stared him in the eye and let her compulsion ring true.

"You will tell me anything you find out about the devices. You will make sure your brother is fixed before he returns to school. You will not remember any of this. " She said, coldly.

She spun on her feet and walked back into her apartment, shutting the door behind her, leaving him crouched on the floor, panting harshly, as air returned to his lungs.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN**_: Wow, this was a very long chapter! I honestly wasn't intending for it to reach 11K. Anyway, a lot of things happened in this story. Bonnie went back to school, John's looking for the Gilbert Device, Aliyah's renovating a house for her and Bonnie, Miss Mystic Falls happened and Aliyah and Bonnie worked together to take Stefan down. I hope you like the way I've characterised Rebekah's relationship with Aliyah, as well as the flashback of Aliyah and Klaus at a ball in around the 1300s.

Anyway, hope you all liked the chapter and don't forget to review.


	7. Blood Brothers and Isobel

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Vampire Diaries in any shape or form. But I do own my OC._

_**A/N**__: _Okay, so this is the episode where Stefan tells the story of his transition into a vampire and Aliyah may be making an appearance in some of his flashbacks. Some more Bonliyah bonding, I promise.

_**Reviews**__:_

Jane: Well, I plan on changing little things here and there through Season 1 and 2 and 3, and then it'll only have bits and pieces of canon from Season 4 and 5 and The Originals in it. The whole Bonnie not fixing the device will be solved in this chapter, so don't worry.

Guest: Thank you so much!

NicoleR85: I love that burgeoning relationship too! I love writing Bonliyah because they're so good together!

MadaleineWinchester: Thank you so much!

tate4eva: I'm glad you think so. I thought I might be overdoing it with the Elena bashing, but I'm trying to have Aliyah advice Bonnie on doing what feels right to Bonnie, which will come out a lot in this chapter, not just what others want Bonnie to do. I'm glad you liked the flashback. I'm trying to put as much Nikliyah backstory in the story before Klaus appears, so we understand some of her reactions when she sees him face to face.

Guest: I'm glad you liked it. I haven't gone all out with the smut, mostly because Klaus isn't here yet, but I plan on doing some smutty flashbacks.

lovetolongago: Thank you so much! You gave me such an amazing review! I'm glad you like Aliyah so much. My main thing is to make my story seem as realistic as possible. I understand that I am writing about witches, vampires and werewolves, so there is that element to fantasy, but I'm trying to make my characters seem realistic as possible. For Aliyah, because Ayanna didn't approve of her becoming a vampire, I think she's searched for some link to the Bennett family and she gets that in Bonnie. She loves the Mikaelsons like they're her own family, but I think there's a part of her that really wants to be accepted by her family by blood. Not to mention, she sees a lot of herself in Bonnie and once I reveal the pairing I have planned for Bonnie, I think we'll see the similarities between the two more clearer. As for Aliyah and Klaus, I'm trying to balance the whole kind, loving, sweet guy he was as a human with the psychopath he is as a vampire/hybrid. Because I think it would have dramatically changed the way they saw each other, or at least, the way that Aliyah saw Klaus, so it's really interesting to write flashbacks in different times for them. There's always that element of softness Klaus has with Aliyah, but we haven't seen any particular violence towards Aliyah from Klaus just yet. Rest assured, she has been daggered by him and that will come out soon enough.

Guest: Thank you so much!

ellenfp: Thank you so much! Actually, with the writers snubbing Bonnie, I've actually finished writing the first couple of Season 2, and there's something that happens really early on that shocked me a lot. It was a huge injustice and I absolutely loved correcting it. I'm not confessing which brother she married first or why they separated, but that will be revealed really early on in Season 2. Caroline and Hayley. Caroline is my favourite character in TVD because I think that she's probably one of the more genuinely decent characters there. She didn't let her sudden vampirism overwhelm her and considering she had quite a traumatic death, she would have more reason than others to be a total bitch. As for Hayley, I have very much mixed feelings towards her. You see, I started watching The Originals before Season 4 of the Vampire Diaries, so I started shipping Klaus/Hayley together 'cause they had some adorable, sassy moments in Season 1 together. But then, I watched Season 3 of TVD again and I thought 'You know, Klaus and Caroline make the perfect couple.' So, I ship Klaroline with a great amount of passion. It's definitely my OTP in TVD. And what a day to confess to this, because today's the milestone of a year without Klaroline, which is incredibly sad. And then, I watched Season 4 and I realised exactly what an absolute bitch Hayley is and I started to hate her, because her character on The Originals seemed so OOC from the one in TVD. So, there will be no Klaroline in this story, mainly because I have a pairing planned out for Caroline and Aliyah and Caroline will be _very_ close in the coming seasons. And there's no Klayley, because I think Aliyah would rip the werewolf's head off her shoulder if she made a play for her husband. But I do have some plans for Hayley in The Originals, she will have a big part to play, but it doesn't mean she's on the Mikaelsons' side and they will _not_ like her. I'm so glad you're starting to ship Klaus and Aliyah, because I like them together. Thank you so much for your review!

**Stormdancer**

**Chapter 7**

**Blood Brothers/Isobel**

"So…" Bonnie trailed off.

Aliyah raised an eyebrow. "Were you planning on finishing that sentence anytime soon?"

"You mentioned you helped Stefan transition into a vampire, Lee-Lee. What actually happened?" Bonnie asked, curiously.

"Well, I think that he and Damon were shot, but I wasn't there for that bit. I arrived in the woods just around the time to find him and Damon lying on the ground in the woods. I was looking for Katherine, you see, and a vampire told me that they were rounding up the vampires in the woods and one of them was Katherine."

"Why were you looking for Katherine?" Bonnie asked, interested, crossing her legs.

"I did something for Katherine a few centuries back and I was worried she would spill my secret if I didn't get to her first." Aliyah replied, blankly.

"So, I went there to find her. By the time I got there, the wench was gone and Damon and Stefan were lying on the ground. I could sense that they had vampire blood in their system, and they had died, so they would wake up as transitioning vampires. So, I carried them to the quarry, from where I visited Emily, who came to assist me. She told me all what Katherine had done in Mystic Falls with the two Salvatore brothers and she already had daylight rings for the two of them, and she asked for my help. I always was a sucker for a love story gone wrong." Aliyah said, wistfully.

_It was midnight when she finally reached Mystic Falls. The vampires settled around Mystic Falls had alerted her to Katerina's presence in the small town. She had retained a few vampires around Mystic Falls out of her own homesickness and worry that the power and knowledge contained in the little town could be harnessed by some witch or warlock seeking power. The town was the birthplace of the Original Vampires and the sight where one hundred witches were burnt alive. The secrets that the natives inscribed on the cave walls beneath the town could pose a threat to her family if anyone dreamed of going against them._

_It was a difficult task to prevent Niklaus or Elijah from following her. They couldn't know where she was going or why she was going there. Their attentions were best left in New Orleans. Niklaus would tear after her and kill Katerina on sight and Elijah would attempt to save her out of some misbegotten empathy he had for the doppelganger. She, herself, wasn't out to kill Katerina, at least, not yet. All she wanted to do was to make sure that Katerina didn't reveal her secret, lest Niklaus find out and dagger her for a couple of centuries for her betrayal._

_When she arrived in the forest, she found an empty carriage and two young men lying on the ground beside it, bullet holes torn into their white shirts. She could smell Katerina on them and guessed that Katerina had managed to make them fall head over heels for her, her ability to entrance men ringing true even more so in her vampire state, a stark difference to the sweet young thing who had visited their home in England in 1492, and turned their world upside down with just the mere sight of her face._

_She looked closer and she could sense Katerina's blood running through their veins and her interest began to grow. These boys would wake up in transition and it would be better if they didn't wake up in the forest, where the vampire hunters could return at a moment's notice._

_She sighed, cursing herself for the same compassion that Niklaus reproached her for time and time again, and grabbed onto one of the boys' arms, slinging it over her shoulder, while she threw the other one over her arm. She ran as fast as she could, lest innocent townspeople find a well-dressed woman carrying two, bloody dead bodies. She finally found herself in a quarry and she dropped the bodies, haphazardly. She then left them, knowing that it would be awhile before they awoke, deciding to go and visit Emily and see what she knew about Katerina Petrova before she left._

* * *

><p><em>Stefan awoke with a start. He opened his shirt to find a bloody smear but no bloody hole. Something on his hand twinkled in the sun and he looked down to find a ring with a lapis lazuli on his finger. He looked up to see a beautiful woman with long, dark curls and dark skin. She wore a long, cobalt blue, button-down dress, with long sleeves and a white shirt peeking out through the collar. She wore matching leather gloves and a dark blue bonnet sat on her head.<em>

"_Emily had already made one of those for you, on Katherine's instructions." The woman nodded at the ring that now graced his finger._

"_Where am I?" Stefan asked. "Who are you?"_

"_The quarry just north of town. I brought you here last night. I found you dead in the woods." She told him, her face blank of any emotion._

"_Where's Damon? Am I...? Am I a...?" Stefan stammered and the woman understood exactly what he was trying to get at._

"_Not quite yet. You're in transition."_

_Stefan frowned. "But how? I…"_

"_You had Katherine's blood in your system when you died." She told him._

"_No." Stefan shook his head. "I never…"_

"_I imagine Katherine's been compelling you to drink for weeks." The woman murmured. "It is something that she would do."_

"_And my brother?"_

"_I apologise. I wouldn't know." The woman shook her head. "When he wakes, he should know if he was compelled by her. As you go through the transition, if a vampire has ever compelled you, you will remember."_

* * *

><p>Aliyah's phone rang and she looked down at the caller ID, not being able to recognise the number. Since she had arrived in Mystic Falls, she had decided to get a new phone with a new number. The first number that she had originally was only given to a handful of people, just to make sure that there was no way that Niklaus would be able to find her, and out of the people in Mystic Falls, she had given that number to Bonnie only. The second number, seeing as she was making friends in Mystic Falls, had been given to Jenna and Alaric, and Damon, Stefan and Elena, reluctantly.<p>

"Hello?" She called out.

"I'm putting you on conference call with Alaric." Damon said.

"Alaric," Aliyah beamed, she had taken a liking to the rough vampire hunter. "You know, if you want to talk to me, you don't have to go through Damon, I'm happy to answer a call from you." She said, sweetly.

"You're hurting my feelings, Aliyah." Damon said, mock offended.

"I'd like to hurt more than that." Aliyah muttered to herself. "So, tell me, boys, what can I do for you?"

"I've, uh, been doing some digging on Elena's uncle. You two interested?" Alaric asked.

Damon frowned. "What kind of digging?"

"I've got an old friend from Duke. Who studied criminology when we were there together. Let's just say he's become a very proficient digger."

"Did he find anything?" Aliyah asked, curiously.

"Well, I had him run a track on John's cell records. He was getting a call from a number... The same number that Elena dialled to get Isobel. And then the number was disconnected." Alaric said.

"Isobel knows John. Whatever. We knew that." Damon said, rolling his eyes.

_In more ways than one, if my guess is correct_. Aliyah thought.

"Right. Well, after that, he started getting calls from a new number. And I had my friend run a geotrack. Got the address. It's... It's an apartment in Grove Hill."

Aliyah raised an eyebrow. "Isobel's in Grove Hill."

"I don't know. I thought we could take a look and see what we find."

"Okay, give me the address." Damon said.

"So, you can go without me? I don't think so." Alaric laughed.

"Or me, keep dreaming, Norman Bates." Aliyah smirked.

"No offense, Morticia, but I don't trust you not to kill me on the way there. And Alaric, _you _actually did try and kill me."

"Alaric, you drive." Aliyah told Alaric. "I'll go over to the Boarding House and Alaric will pick us up in an hour."

"Hey, who died and made in you in charge of the quest?" Damon asked, incredulously.

"Done."

Both Aliyah and Alaric hung up, leaving Damon staring at the phone with confusion, wondering exactly how he had managed to lose control over the conversation.

* * *

><p>"He's being dramatic, Bambi." Aliyah rolled her eyes. "Trust me, he won't starve himself."<p>

"But, then why would he say something like that?" Elena protested.

Damon rolled his eyes. "He feels bad about hurting that girl. It's a very typical Stefan martyr stuff. It will pass."

"Will it? Because he seemed to be in a lot of pain." Elena said, worriedly.

"Yes. He'll start to desiccate if he starves himself. All he has to do is eat and it'll pass." Aliyah nodded.

Elena shook her head. "I didn't mean physical pain."

Damon grimaced. "We know what you meant. Look, are you gonna be okay here if we have to run out? I have to go to an errand with the teacher."

"Wait, I have a question." Elena looked at them, sceptically. "Are you two friends now?" She asked, incredulously.

Aliyah raised an eyebrow. "I'd rather stake myself in the heart than be _his_ friend." She deadpanned.

"And the teacher? Alaric? Are you two friends now?" Elena asked Damon.

"Don't be stupid, Bambi, he doesn't have any friends." Aliyah shook his head.

"Right." Elena nodded, agreeing with Aliyah much to her surprise.

"You should, um, you should stay up here. You shouldn't be down there by yourself." Damon said, weakly, trying his hardest to seem compassionate.

"It'll be fine." Elena said.

"You know... You're very trusting of him, given the circumstances." Damon offered.

"So are you. Otherwise, you wouldn't be leaving." Elena pointed out.

Aliyah rolled her eyes. _Great, and it begins. _"We won't be long."

* * *

><p>Aliyah, Damon and Alaric were at the apartment in Grove Hill, where Isobel was rumoured to be hiding out.<p>

"This is the one here. The records show it was paid 3 months in advance." Alaric said.

"This is where it gets tricky. We may or may not be able to get in." Damon said, staring at the apartment.

"Yeah, how does that work? You always have to be invited in?" Alaric asked, curiously.

"Yes. By the owner or the person of entitlement, in the case of a property. However, short-term rentals and hotel rooms still apply, just not in the way you'd think. There's no need for an invitation by the tenant because they don't have a right to ownership."

"Could we not kill anyone tonight, please?" Alaric said, nervously.

"You mean, you just brought me along for my company?" Damon smirked.

Aliyah chose to ignore him and shoved open the door to the apartment.

"It doesn't look like anyone's home." Alaric pointed out.

"Yeah, we're good." Aliyah murmured. "No permanent resident, apparently."

She walked into the kitchen of the small apartment and opened the fridge. She tensed when she saw blood bags and she heard the telltale sign of someone trying to sneak up on them from behind.

"We have company." Aliyah scowled and shut the door with a bang.

She turned around just in time to see a man jump on Alaric, who stabbed him with wooden knuckles, making him rear back and evaluate his best mode of attack. The man made to attack Alaric again, and Aliyah reached out, gripping the vampire by the shoulder and throwing him off Alaric.

"Boys, boys, that's enough." Aliyah sighed.

"Wait a minute, I know you." Damon frowned at the man.

"Damon?" The vampire said, incredulously.

"Your name is Henry. You were in the tomb." Damon said, remembering.

"Yes, sir." Henry nodded. "What are you doing here?"

* * *

><p>"So, how do you know John Gilbert?" Henry asked, curiously.<p>

"Well, I've known him for years. He's a good friend. How do you know him?" Damon asked, interested.

Henry shrugged. "I met him right after I got out of the tomb. He's been helping me out."

Aliyah frowned. "Helping you out how?"

"Adapting. It's a whole new world... Cars, computers, . There's so much to learn. He helped me get this place." Henry said, gesturing to the room.

"So, do you live here alone or is there someone else here?" Alaric asked, slowly.

Damon smirked. "That's my friend's very passive-aggressive way of asking, uh, do you know a woman named Isobel?"

Henry shook his head. "Uh, no. No, I don't know an Isobel. I know John. He's my only real friend. He really showed me the ropes... how to use a microwave, separate my whites."

"What else do you do for him?" Aliyah asked, narrowing her eyes.

"I help keep an eye on things...You know, with the others." Henry leaned back, nonchalantly.

"The others?" Damon raised an eyebrow.

"From the tomb." Henry replied. "They're still pissed at the founding families for trying to burn them alive. I'm cool, but those tomb boys, they want revenge."

"What does John want with them?" Aliyah asked.

"He's just keeping an eye on them, you know? Trying to make sure they stay out of trouble." Henry told them, smiling.

Damon resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Well, that's John. Heh. He's such a do-gooder."

Suddenly, Henry's phone rang and he looked down at the screen. "Heh. That's John now."

"Oh. Hey, let me talk to him." Damon reached out for the phone.

Henry nodded, not seeing what harm it could do. "All right. Yeah. Are you gonna answer that?" He asked, seeing that Damon was holding the phone in his hand and not doing anything with it.

"Am I gonna..." Damon looked to Alaric and Aliyah to see what they would say. "Answer that?"

Both Aliyah and Alaric shook their heads, signalling for Damon not to answer the phone.

Henry frowned at their strange behaviour and his hackles immediately rose. "What's going on?" He asked, sharply.

He ran at Alaric and Aliyah grabbed him, holding him up for Alaric to stab him in the heart with a stake.

"'Let's not kill anyone tonight.' Your words. Just pointing that out." Damon pointed out, smirking.

"Oh, shut up, Damon." Aliyah growled.

* * *

><p>"Find anything yet?" Aliyah asked Alaric and Damon, while the latter drained all of the blood bags in the fridge.<p>

Alaric shook his head. "No, I looked everywhere. The place is...The place is clean." He sighed, mournfully, obviously distraught at the lack of a sign of his wife.

"Well, I found this." Damon threw Alaric a beer. "Behind the blood in the fridge."

"Oh, man, this was a real dead-end." Alaric shook his head.

"I wouldn't beat myself up over it, man." Damon offered. "What did you think you were gonna find, huh? Isobel with a cigar and slippers?" He snorted.

"Oh, man. I... I gotta stop this. I can't... I can't keep searching for her." Alaric buried his face in his hands.

Damon raised an eyebrow. "Really? After only 2 years? That's actually… moderately healthy." He said, stunned.

"What are you going on? 146?" Aliyah asked, spitefully, as she sank down onto the couch beside Alaric.

Damon shrugged. "Well, I figure the 200 mark is probably a good stopping point."

Alaric groaned. "Ah. I mean, no answer is enough. I keep thinking I wanna know why, when, you know, the precise moment. When my wife decided life with me wasn't enough." He shook his head.

Aliyah paled and watched as Alaric stared off into nothing. Her hands shook, wondering if that was what Niklaus felt right now. Or if he had moved past that. He would have wondered, wouldn't he? At least, straight after she left him – why wasn't he good enough for her? He was good enough for her, that wasn't why she had left him. She couldn't stand being with him, knowing that if she watched the brutalities he committed for much longer, she would start to hate him. She was trying to avoid getting to that point where the love between them had disappeared, and all was left was resentment and hate. It was as if someone were staking her in the heart with a white oak stake to think that Niklaus believed she wanted more than he gave.

For a brief moment, she wondered if the pain she put herself and Niklaus would be worth it in the end. Would she ever have the strength to return to him? Would he ever forgive her for seemingly abandoning him?

"She charmed me, your wife, Isobel. She talked a good game, man. She was smart. She had this excitement in her eyes. I probably should have known there was something different about her, some tie to Katherine. There had to be some reason I didn't kill her." Damon shook his head.

"So not the thing you should be telling her husband, you bloody moron." Aliyah hissed.

"That's enough, Damon." Alaric said, finally, his voice growing cold and angry. "I don't wanna hear anymore. I just don't want to waste any more of my life. Searching for answers that I really don't want. I'm through with Isobel. I... I'm done with all of this. Yeah." He nodded and walked off, still clutching his beer.

"You know, you could be a little more sensitive to the teacher." Aliyah said, pointedly. "Considering _you're_ still hung up on Katherine like a lovesick schoolgirl, you don't actually have much room to talk."

Damon cleared his throat, desperate to change the subject from his feelings for Katherine. "How do you know Katherine, anyway?"

Aliyah raised an eyebrow. "Any particular reason why I should tell _you_?" She asked, patronisingly. She stood up. "Don't fool yourself into thinking for a moment Katherine actually had feelings for you, psycho-wannabe. Katherine hasn't cared for anyone since she turned into a vampire. The fact that she turned your brother alongside you should tell you so much." She said, grimly. "Take my advice, Damon, let her go. You'll be much better off if you stay away from Petrova women. That includes Elena."

With that, she walked off, out of the apartment and in Alaric's direction.

* * *

><p>"So, what are you going to do today?" Bonnie asked Aliyah, curiously.<p>

"Well," Aliyah drawled. "I have some plans to do a little leg work on the Founder's Day preparations. You know I have to keep up the façade that I'm actually someone writing a book on Mystic Falls. What about you?" She asked, turning to Bonnie.

"Well, Caroline roped me and Elena into helping her build the Miss Mystic Falls float for the Founder's Day parade. Caroline will burn me alive like one of those Salem witches if I don't." Bonnie said, shaking her head.

"This town is kind of fanatical, wouldn't you say?" Aliyah smirked.

Bonnie sighed. "You're telling me." She shook her head. "What happened to Stefan?" She asked, suddenly.

"Oh, you mean after he lost control at the Miss Mystic Falls pageant?" Aliyah asked and Bonnie nodded. "Damon told me that he trapped Stefan in the cellar and made him wait out the bloodlust, getting him back under control by force feeding him animal blood." Aliyah explained. "He should be out by now." She paused. "Are you worried about him?" She asked, curiously. "Because all you have to do is call me and I'll rip his head off." She said, reassuringly.

"No." Bonnie shook her head, emphatically. "I can take him down if he pulls anything." She said, confidently.

"Good." Aliyah smiled, fondly, at Bonnie. "Make sure you do, because the Salvatore brothers need to brought down a peg or two, and I think you're the perfect person to do that." She smirked.

Bonnie laughed and wrapped her arms around Aliyah's waist. "I don't know about that, you seem to do a pretty good job." She grinned.

"I do, don't I?" Aliyah grinned back, smugly.

"So, what happened at Grove Hill yesterday?" Bonnie asked, curiously.

"Oh, well, we went to that apartment we thought Isobel was staying at, which turned out to be a dead end. But it turns out that John Gilbert has made friends with one of the tomb vampires and is using him to keep an eye on all of the others. But, alas, that friend is now dead, thanks to our resident vampire hunter, Alaric." Aliyah shrugged. "Alaric seems to have given up on finding Isobel. The poor thing." She shook her head.

"Mr Saltzman deserves better." Bonnie looked disgusted. "Isobel's just screwing with him."

"Maybe Jenna is that 'better'." Aliyah said, slyly.

"Why?" Bonnie beamed at her. "What do you know?" She asked, excitedly.

"I may have witnessed them exchanging quite the kiss when they were helping put the banner up for the Bachelor Raffle. Of course, that was the time when Jenna revealed that his wife was actually Elena's birth mother, so he ran away. But they looked quite cosy at the Miss Mystic Falls pageant." Aliyah smiled to herself. "You never know what will happen, Bonnie girl, love works in mysterious ways." She said, wistfully.

* * *

><p>"Alright, show me." Bonnie urged Caroline.<p>

"Let's reference last years Miss Mystic float." Caroline offered and typed something on her computer. "This is what they did last year," She turned her computer to face Bonnie to show her a picture that was splayed across the screen. "And this is exactly what we don't want to do." She rolled her eyes, flicking her blonde hair behind her shoulders.

"Ew." Bonnie grimaced. "Okay! So, what are we doing?" She asked, half-heartedly.

"Southern classic elegance." Caroline replied, primly.

"Gone with the Wind?" Bonnie asked, knowingly.

Caroline flushed. "How'd you know?" She asked, curiously.

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "You channel Scarlett, daily."

Caroline smirked at what she took as a compliment. "So true!" She beamed.

They both laughed at the astounding normalcy of the moment. Caroline looked around, expectantly, searching for a familiar head of brown hair but finding none.

She scowled. "Where's Elena? She's supposed to be helping." She said, crossly.

Bonnie shrugged. "I don't know."

She still had a lot of problems interacting with Elena. It was still hard for her to look at Elena when all she saw was putting her Grams' body in the ground at her funeral. It was hard to see her move on with Stefan while she still felt that pang in her heart every time she thought of the only woman who had ever given a damn about her. Especially seeing how Stefan acted at the pageant, she was more convinced than ever that the Salvatore brothers were no good. She already knew that Damon was the devil incarnate. She still blamed him the most for her Grams' death. She just didn't know how Elena could keep defending them.

Caroline frowned, seeing the way Bonnie's face went blank at a mention of Elena. "Okay, what's the deal?" She asked, sighing.

Bonnie shrugged. "What do you mean?"

Caroline shook her head. "Don't play dumb. You and Elena are fighting. Spill!" She demanded.

"It's nothing." Bonnie insisted, looking anywhere but Caroline in the eyes.

Caroline glared at her. "It's not nothing. You know this whole float is supposed to be about friends creating something together and everyone is fighting. Matt and Tyler hate each other, you and Elena are on the outs and I don't like it! And I can't fix it if I don't know what's wrong." She said, finally.

Bonnie bit her lip, wanting to confess to Caroline everything that had happened and everything she was worried would happen, but she didn't want Caroline to be brought into this. She needed one bit of normalcy in her life and Caroline was that.

"I can't talk about it, Caroline, I'm sorry." Bonnie sighed.

Caroline looked at her, sadly. She knew what people thought of her. Blonde, shallow, dumb, selfish, neurotic, control freak, useless. She had heard all of those words so many times it was like they were ingrained in her mind. But she was more than that. She knew it. She just wanted Bonnie to confide in her so that she could make her best friend feel better.

* * *

><p>Students who were walking along the corridors of Mystic Falls High School were stunned to find a beautiful woman walking through the halls, wearing a tight, long-sleeved lime green and grey dress that came halfway up her thighs, coupled with a sleeveless denim jacket. What was more surprising was the fact that the woman proceeded to go down the hallways to Mr Saltzman, the history teacher's room.<p>

"Any reason why you called me, boys and girl?" Aliyah asked with a smile, once she entered the room and shut the door behind her.

"I met Isobel last night." Alaric told her.

"Oh, joy." Aliyah rolled her eyes. "Another vampire we have to deal with." She shook her head.

The door opened and Damon stepped over the threshold.

"Damon, thanks for coming." Alaric said, slowly.

"Sorry I'm late. My dog ate my uh… never mind." Damon stopped when he saw the identical glares coming from Stefan, Elena and Aliyah.

"Can you please shut up for once in your life?" Aliyah sighed.

Damon rolled his eyes and he looked at Stefan, Elena and Aliyah. "What's with all the furrowed brows?" He asked.

"I saw Isobel last night." Alaric said.

Damon's eyes widened. "Isobel is here?" Alaric nodded. "In town?" He clarified. He turned to Elena and looked at her, wondering how exactly she was taking this new information. "Did you ask her about Uncle John? Are they working together?"

"No." Alaric shook his head.

"No, they're not? Or no, you didn't ask?" Aliyah wondered out loud.

"No, I didn't ask." Alaric told her.

"What about the invention?" Damon asked.

Alaric shrugged. "Didn't ask."

"Did she know about the tomb vampires?" Aliyah asked.

"I don't know."

"Well, what the bloody hell were you doing when you saw her?" Aliyah snapped, furiously.

"Well, I was a little too distracted by my dead vampire wife to ask any questions." Alaric said, sarcastically.

Damon rolled his eyes and turned to Elena. "What did she want?" He asked.

"She wants to see me, Damon." Elena said.

Damon looked at her.

"Alaric is supposed to arrange a meeting. We don't know why or what she wants." Stefan explained.

Damon, however, did not take his eyes off Elena. "You don't have to see her if you don't want to."

Stefan, confused by the sudden sensitivity from Damon of all people, looked at Damon and then at Elena, while Aliyah smiled to herself at Damon's newfound affection towards yet another Petrova doppelganger.

_It's starting again. _Aliyah resisted the urge to sing to herself.

Elena shrugged. "I don't really have a choice."

"She's threatened to go on killing spree." Alaric explained.

Damon looked at all of them. "Oh! I take it that's not okay with you guys."

"Yes." Aliyah deadpanned. "Because any more murders in Mystic Falls and the Council would be turning their eyes to any possible vampire in town, including the two brothers, whose names are on the registry from the first Founders' Party in 1864."

Damon smirked at her. "And the journalist who's writing a _book_ on Mystic Falls."

Aliyah smiled, viciously, at him. "I know how to deal with pesky townspeople and silly vendettas against vampires. Let's just hope it doesn't end up like that. I'd hate to turn Mystic Falls into a cemetery." She purred.

"I want to do it. I want to meet her. If I don't, I know I'll regret it." Elena said, firmly.

Damon and Elena looked at each other, something unspeakable passing between them.

Aliyah clapped her hands. "Well, if that's settled, it's time for Elena to meet Mommy Dearest."

* * *

><p>Elena was sitting alone in the Mystic Grill, while Stefan was standing at the pool table, watching after Elena, acting as her silent bodyguard. Aliyah could see the young couple from outside, where she was standing with Alaric and Damon, waiting for Isobel to arrive and speak to Elena.<p>

Elena pursed her lips. _"Can you hear me?"_ She asked, quietly. _"Thanks for coming, I'm nervous."_ She confessed. Stefan smiled at her. _"I'm happy that you're here. I love you."_

Stefan moved his lips and mouthed 'I love you' at her. Suddenly, a middle-aged, dark-haired woman with sharp features, wearing a smart dress, arrived and sat down opposite Elena.

"_Hello Elena. You look just like her, that's eerie."_ Isobel said with a small smile.

Elena's eyes widened. _"You've met Katherine?"_

Aliyah rolled her eyes. _Of course, she's met Katherine. They're very similar. I'm sure they're great friends._

"_She found me after I turned. Genetic curiosity, I suppose. She would be fascinated by you."_ Isobel said, pointedly.

Elena looked at the necklace around Isobel's neck, a lapis lazuli stone acting as the pendant. _"Is that how you can walk in the day?"_ She asked, curiously.

Isobel nodded. _"Katherine helped me obtain it."_

Elena paused. _"Who's my father?_" She asked, slightly fearfully.

Isobel shook his head. _"Not important. He was a teenage waste of space."_

"_A name would be nice."_ Elena offered.

Isobel smirked. _"It would, wouldn't it? You ask a lot of questions."_

"_Why did you compel that man to kill himself? Right after he told me to stop looking for you."_

_Because she's turned her humanity off. _Aliyah thought.

Isobel shrugged. _"Dramatic impact. I wish it would have been more effective."_

"_Human life means that little to you?"_ Elena asked, incredulously, unable to believe that the woman in front of her was actually her mother.

"_Means nothing to me."_ Isobel corrected. _"It's just part of being what I am."_

Elena shook her head. _"No it's not. I know other vampires, that's not true."_

Isobel smirked. _"Your new boyfriend over there by the pool table? Stefan Salvatore. Why Stefan? Why didn't you go for Damon? Or are you enjoying them both like Katherine did?"_ She asked, curiously, a wicked glint in her eyes.

Elena seemed shocked by the question, having never considered the thought, while Stefan grimaced, uncomfortable by the thought of Elena acting as Katherine once did with him and Damon. He loved her for being so unlike Katherine that the thought of her 'enjoying' both of them made him sick to his stomach.

* * *

><p>Damon scowled at the window to the Mystic Grill, being able to see through the glass and see Elena and Isobel interacting.<p>

"We should be in there." Damon growled.

"No, Isobel made it clear we're not to step a foot inside." Alaric said, sharply.

"And let Elena have her time with her long lost mother." Aliyah rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'm not going to kill her in a crowded restaurant." Damon protested.

"You're not going to kill her period!" Alaric snarled.

Aliyah raised an eyebrow, impressed by the man's loyalty. It was hard to see that in this day and age. There was a time when love was the most decent thing a person could experience and everyone cherished it once they had. Nowadays, it seemed as love went as fast as it came. But this man in front of her was different. He was loyal to a woman who had done everything to show him that he wasn't good enough for her.

"She ruined your life and you still want to protect her?" Aliyah asked, quietly.

"She's my wife." Alaric shrugged. Both Aliyah and Damon looked at him with interest. "Was my wife. I looked for the woman I married but she wasn't there. Whoever that is, she's cold and detached." He said, shaking his head.

"Yeah, she's given up her humanity." Damon nodded.

"Yeah, see, I don't get that. Stefan has his humanity, he's a good guy. Aliyah threatens you and Stefan, but she's decent to people and she obviously cares about Bonnie." Alaric pointed out and Aliyah smiled at him. "And you're a dick and you kill people, but I still see something human in you. But with her there was… nothing."

"Vampires have a switch." Aliyah explained, quietly, looking elsewhere. "You can turn it off or just make it dimmer, like a button you can press. Stefan hasn't done that, he's empathetic. He keeps all of those pesky feelings, that's why he broods like crazy. Damon's an arse, but his is more a dimmer switch and his morality is just skewed." She shook her head. "For a vampire, emotions can be intense. All of those feelings, love, hunger, pain, grief, they become more and more intense. So, a vampire just shuts them off. Like Isobel."

She looked at Alaric, suddenly looking remarkably older than first impressions. "If you could turn it off, wouldn't you?" She asked, slowly.

"You haven't." Alaric pointed out, softly, wondering whether he was lucky to get such an inside glance into this vampire.

"Do you know witches can't be vampires?" Aliyah asked, suddenly. "Witches are servants of nature. Vampires are abominations of nature. To be a vampire means you cannot be a witch." She said, wistfully. "I was a witch as a human. And now I am not. It is my punishment for being an abomination." She said, plainly. "I work through my emotions, I don't turn it off. I am not a coward."

"_I can't." Aliyah spat. "I can't do anything!" She shrieked._

"_Aliyah, enough." Elijah said, calmly._

"_I can't." Aliyah sobbed out and her legs fell weak, buckling. She fell to the ground, her hands falling into the dirt, desperately seeking purchase. "'Lijah, I can't feel anything. The spirits have abandoned me. The Earth has abandoned me. What will I do now?"_

_Elijah walked closer to her, kneeling beside her on the ground. His arm wrapped around her shoulders and he brought her into his body, allowing her to cry into his shoulder. She wound her arms around his neck and she wept her heart out. Her tears felt like nothing she had felt before. Her heart ached and she felt sick to her stomach._

"_Elijah, what do I do now?" She asked, weakly._

"_You will clean yourself up." He said, firmly, the port in the storm that was overwhelming his mind. "You will come home with me and you will live, Aliyah, inamorata. You will heal and you will live."_

_She leaned up to place a hand on his cheek. "What if I am not strong enough?" She whispered._

"_I am here. You will be." Elijah said, firmly._

* * *

><p>"<em>Why did you want to meet me? Can't be to just catch up.<em>" Elena said, suspiciously.

"_Because I'm curious about you."_ Isobel said, simply. _"But the real reason is: I want what your uncle wants. Jonathan Gilbert's invention."_

Elena frowned in confusion. _"How do you know my uncle?"_

"_I used to spend a lot of time here when I was younger. John had a crush on me for years. He was the first one that told me about vampires."_ Isobel said with a smile that resembled fond reminiscence, but everyone watching her knew better.

"_So what made you want to be one?"_ Elena asked, curiously, desperate for some information that would make her feel closer to her birth mother.

"_It's a very long list of reasons, Elena. All of which I'm sure you've thought about."_ Isobel said, knowingly.

Elena shook her head, knowing exactly what Isobel was getting at. _"No."_ She said, finally.

Isobel smirked. "That was your first lie. It's inevitable, you're going to get old, Stefan won't." Elena looked back at Stefan, who realised the magnitude of what Isobel was saying. _"Forever doesn't last very long when you're human."_ She pointed out.

"_I'm sorry but I don't have what you're looking for."_ Elena shook her head, determinedly.

Elena jumped to her feet and made to walk away, but Isobel caught her arm and forced her to sit back down.

"_Sit down,"_ Isobel said, warningly, her eyes and her grip turning threatening. Stefan made to go and free her. _"And tell your boyfriend to walk away. I want the invention."_ She said, finally.

"_I don't have it."_ Elena insisted.

Isobel rolled her eyes. _"I know that, but Damon does and you're going get it for me."_ She said with a malicious smile.

Elena raised an eyebrow. _"He's not going to give it to me."_ She pointed out.

Isobel shrugged. _"Then the blood will be on your hands."_

She slid to her feet and made to leave. _"It was nice meeting you, Elena."_ She said, sweetly, and walked out of the restaurant.

Elena started to cry, the meeting finally overwhelming her. Stefan made to go toward her when Bonnie walked through the door of the Mystic Grill. She had met Aliyah outside, who had filled her in on exactly what was going on inside the restaurant. She had been a little wary on going inside once she knew Elena had been inside, but her love for her friend surpassed her momentary anger and she wanted to know if Elena needed her. She walked in to find Elena sitting at the table, tears in her eyes and her shoulders trembling. Bonnie bit her lip and moved to comfort her, when she saw Stefan arrive behind Elena. Suddenly, all of her anger and resentment rushed at her, blinding her and her vision turning a hazy red. Elena noticed the way her gaze shifted and turned around to see Stefan behind her. She turned back to watch Bonnie's reaction. The witch simply stared at Stefan with burning eyes and left the Grill.

* * *

><p>Bonnie stormed out of the restaurant, in a blinding rage, seeing Aliyah standing alongside Damon and Alaric, near the restaurant. She strode over to her, seething, and grabbed the older vampire's wrist, pulling her away, while sending a withering glare to Damon, who simply smirked at her.<p>

"We need to go." Bonnie told Aliyah, firmly, her voice clipped and cold.

"Okay," Aliyah said, slowly. "Let's go home, then." She shrugged at Alaric and Damon, and allowed Bonnie to lead her away.

"You okay, Bonnie girl?" Aliyah asked, quietly, once they were enough of a distance from Damon and Stefan so that the young vampires wouldn't be able to listen into their conversation.

"Am I a bad person?" Bonnie asked, sighing, her face falling.

"Why do you say that?" Aliyah asked, incredulously. "Bonnie, I've met a lot of bad people in my life and I can assure you, you don't come anywhere close to them." She said, reassuringly.

"Why did I walk away from Elena, then?" Bonnie asked, wearily. "How could I do that? She's my best friend and she was clearly upset, and _I just walked away from her."_

"Why don't you explain to me exactly what happened?" Aliyah offered.

"I walked into the Grill and I saw Elena about to cry and I made to comfort her, I really did," She insisted, tears falling down her dark skin. "But then I saw Stefan behind her and something just snapped inside of me." She whispered, as if it were her deepest darkest secret that she was confessing. "I just couldn't stop myself from being angry at Elena, and _I just left her in there_." She hissed, feeling furious and ashamed of herself.

Aliyah nodded, slowly. "Okay, can I offer you some advice?" She asked, gently.

Bonnie nodded, gratefully. "Please." She murmured, desperately.

"Okay," Aliyah nodded. She, then, looked thoughtful, as if she were trying to figure out what was the best way to put what she was thinking. "I think what you just did was a little cold. There is nothing I like better than to give Elena Gilbert hell, but you could have been a better tonight." She said, sternly. "But I still stand by what I said earlier, you told me that you walked into the Grill, you saw Elena, you wanted to comfort her, you saw Stefan and you got angry. If anything, that shows me that you haven't forgiven Elena for what you feel she did wrong. You shouldn't push it, Bonnie." Aliyah said, softly. "It… it won't be good for your friendship in the long run, darling."

Bonnie nodded. Her face faltered. "I just… I just want to help her. But I can't be around Elena without wanting to _scream_." She spat.

Aliyah paused. She couldn't believe she was going to suggest this, and for _Elena Gilbert_ nonetheless. She sighed. "How about I talk to her?" She asked, slowly.

Bonnie frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Aliyah laughed, slyly. "I do have _some_ experience with family members who inevitably disappointed me. I can offer her some advice."

"Yeah, but _you_…" Bonnie trailed off.

"Because of my undying hatred for Elena Gilbert?" Aliyah laughed, throwing her head back. "It's true, I have a lot of problems with Elena, but I don't like kicking people when they're down, Bonnie." She said, quietly. "I won't say anything to hurt her. I just want to offer her some advice."

Bonnie bit her lip and then nodded. "Okay, can you please talk to her?" She asked, shyly.

Aliyah nodded. "For you, of course."

* * *

><p>Aliyah walked into the house that Isobel was using as her own to find her watching in barely disguised lust as a pretty French woman danced with a hulky, shirtless cowboy. She leaned against the doorframe and shook her head.<p>

"You know, just because you're a vampire doesn't mean you have to act like some daft, slutty sorority girl." Aliyah pointed out.

Isobel spun around to face her, her face transforming into an expression of interest. "Now, who might you be?" She purred.

"What, Katerina didn't mention me?" Aliyah asked, innocently, her smile turning dangerous. "I suppose I should be hurt by the disregard." She mused, walking into the room.

Isobel lunged towards her, a flash of speed, and pinned her by the neck against the wall.

"Who are you?" She hissed in Aliyah's face, baring her fangs.

"Oh, darling," Aliyah laughed, condescendingly. "Your little parlour tricks don't work on someone like me." She purred. Her hand reached up and grabbed onto Isobel's wrist, squeezing until the woman in front of her screamed with pain as she broke every single bone in her arm. As quick as a flash of lightning, Aliyah had spun them around, her hand gripping Isobel by the chin and holding her up in the air. "I'm much older than you, _little girl_, and frankly, that Petrova arrogance that you, your ancestor, and your daughter seem to have just gets on my nerves." She hissed, her nails digging into the sensitive skin of Isobel's jaw. "Now, my name is Aliyah, do you know who I am now?" She cocked her head, her eyes boring into Isobel's.

Isobel's face paled and she practically trembled with the force of her fear. She immediately started to struggle, thrashing in Aliyah's hold, while Aliyah simply rolled her eyes.

"Don't struggle, darling. You won't escape me." She told Isobel, sharply, and then let her go, leaving the woman on the floor, clutching her neck and gasping for air.

She turned around, surveying the house with vague interest. "What does Katherine want?" She asked.

"She wants to be free of you and your family." Isobel managed to hiss out.

Aliyah laughed, coldly. She turned around and her hands fell to her hips. "Isobel, no one is ever free of my family. Klaus _will_ hunt her down for taking the moonstone and turning herself into a vampire." She said, sweetly. "There is no escape for her, no pardon. She will die." She said, plainly.

"What if she offers up Elena?" Isobel asked, slyly.

Aliyah went cold and, in a flash, she was standing right in front of Isobel. "Don't get dragged into this, Isobel." She warned. "I will not allow Klaus to sacrifice Elena, and if you go against me, you will die a very painful death. Not by my husband's hands, but by mine." She said, coldly. "Don't interfere in matters beyond your comprehension."

"You know, for someone married to Klaus, you sure don't care about whether he breaks his curse or not." Isobel smirked.

"You know, for someone who claims to be Elena's mother, you sure do seem eager to sacrifice her like a lamb for the slaughter." Aliyah shot back. "You do not want to make me angry, Isobel. My husband indiscriminately kills anyone who is in his way. I am not like that. I kill anyone that may be a threat to someone I care about. And right now, that is you."

"You know, from what I've seen around town, you don't seem to like Elena all that much. Why go to so much trouble to protect her?" Isobel asked, curiously.

Aliyah smiled, baring her teeth. "My reasons are my own. Stay away from Elena or you _will_ have me to deal with. And I can be worse than Klaus in so many ways." She said, coldly.

* * *

><p>Elena walked into her bedroom, ready to switch off the light, and turned and jumped in fear, her hand clutching her chest as she desperately tried to regain control of her breathing.<p>

"What are you doing here?" Elena hissed at the vampire in her bedroom.

Aliyah rolled her eyes. "Don't be so rude. I come in peace." She said, warningly. "Actually, I come at Bonnie's behest." She amended.

Elena swallowed hard. "What do you mean?" She asked, weakly.

"Well, as you might have observed, Bonnie still has lingering anger issues to do with you and your vampire boy-toys, but she felt bad for leaving you like that in the Grill last night, especially when you looked like you needed someone. She didn't want to come here, try and comfort you and then say something she'd later regret, so I offered to come in her place."

Elena laughed, harshly, and dragged her hand over her face. "What can you possibly do?" She asked, sceptically.

Aliyah leaned back against the window. "Contrary to popular belief, Elena, I do have family other than Bonnie. And what I've learnt over my considerably long life is that family can be a pain in the arse." She shrugged. "I can understand why you were disappointed in Isobel. She is quite the raging bitch."

Elena bit her lip and sank down on the bed. "Even after I found out that Damon turned her, I still wanted to meet her, you know." She said, weakly. "She's still my mother. I just wanted her to…" She trailed off.

"Look at you like a mother is supposed to." Aliyah finished, knowingly.

Elena nodded, surprised that Aliyah was able to finish her thought that easily.

"I don't know if Bonnie or Damon and Stefan told you whatever they knew of my story, but before I was a vampire, I was a witch." Aliyah confessed, folding her hands over her lap. "My mother, Bonnie's ancestor, she was a very powerful witch in the village we lived in. The Bennett line has always produced powerful witches, but my mother and I… we were more so than the rest of our family, in fact, I don't think I see as much power as we had, except in Emily Bennett and Bonnie." She said, wistfully. "Anyway, my mother raised me in the craft and all of my life, I heard about how rewarding it was to be a servant of nature, that my magic was a part of me and I shouldn't be ashamed of me, that it was a great calling to be a witch." Aliyah whispered. "But, then, I was turned into a vampire. And a vampire cannot be a witch. A witch is a servant of nature and a vampire goes against nature. The two species cannot exist in one person. So, I was a vampire. I went to my mother, seeking comfort after my transition, and she turned her back on me. She told me that she would forget that she had a daughter and that I should leave and never come back to her." Aliyah said, the pain of her mother's rejection still hitting her hard and leaving her breathless.

"I'm sorry." Elena said, softly, seeing another side of the scary, vicious vampire that she had seen before.

Aliyah cracked a smile. "Of course, I waited. I wanted her to come to me, to tell me that she was sorry that she treated me like that, that she still loved me, that she was still my mother and I was still her daughter, but that never happened. But, she was still my mother underneath all of that anger and hatred and resentment, Elena. She put this spell on me, a protection spell that would leave me untouched by magic. Magic, by any witch, cannot hurt me, Elena. That was my mother's gift to me despite her hatred of what I was." She whispered. "Sometimes, family disappoints you, Elena. But that is what they're supposed to do. Family are supposed to make you miserable, otherwise they aren't family." She said, softly. "Isobel, while a raging, humanity-less bitch, is still your mother and I wouldn't give up hope that she will show that side of her to you." Aliyah murmured.

Elena swallowed, deeply moved at what Aliyah had confessed to her. "I had a mother, you know," She pursed her lips. "Miranda Gilbert, and she was my mother and I loved her as my mother, but…"

"There will always be a part of you that needs Isobel." Aliyah finished, knowingly. "Yes, I know that feeling. Just because you feel curious about Isobel does not diminish how much you loved your adopted mother, Elena. In fact, it makes your bond with Miranda so much more strong knowing that she was a woman who _chose_ you, wholeheartedly. And that is a gift that you will realise." She said, earnestly.

She remembered meeting a young boy in New Orleans in 1815, his mother dead and his father hating him. She remembered how much love she had showered that child with and how he had grown under her tutelage and Niklaus', and how he seemed so much stronger with them, knowing that Niklaus may not be his father and Aliyah may not have born him, but they had chosen him as their son and that was strong enough to overwhelm the rejection he faced by his birth father treating him as nothing more than a slave.

"How do you know?" Elena asked, weakly.

"Because I've seen it happen. Because I've lived through it." Aliyah said, simply. "Isobel may not look at you the way you want her to look at you, but you have family and friends who love you more than anything. Jenna and Jeremy, Caroline and Bonnie, Stefan. You had parents who loved you, even if they weren't genetically bound to you. And that alone is enough for a person."

"Why are you saying this to me?" Elena whispered. "I thought you hated me."

Aliyah sighed. "Okay, look, I don't mean to be a bitch…" She looked thoughtful. "Actually, I do." She mused. She sighed. "Okay, this can't be an apology. I'll lose my reputation if I apologise to you. Look, I don't hate you." She said, finally. "Frankly, I don't think of you enough to hate you. I see you repeating the same, _bloody_ mistakes that your ancestors did. I see you treating Bonnie like she's your witch-for-hire and _that makes me angry_. I see you disregarding the hell Damon put your friend, Caroline, through and actually treat him like a person, when he's no better than a psychotic rapist. I see you sidelining the hurt Bonnie went through when her grandmother died because of _your_ boyfriend and his brother."

Something changed in Aliyah's eyes.

"I am a bitch when someone threatens my family, Elena." Aliyah's voice turned cold. "I am vicious when someone I care about is hurting and right now, that is Bonnie. I don't think you're good for Bonnie, if I'm being honest, and that's why I don't like you. I don't want to see Bonnie go down the road she'll go if she stays with you."

"So, you're trying to take my best friend away from me?" Elena snapped.

"No," Aliyah said, flatly. "I'm trying to show Bonnie that she has a life outside of Elena Gilbert and any apocalyptic mission she finds herself in." She paused. "Okay, I tried my best and this isn't going anywhere." She shook her head. "Other than the way this conversation ended, Elena, please try and remember what I told you. Don't let Isobel run your life. She's not worth it and you'll get over it, I promise."

And she was gone, as fast as she came, as if she were never standing in Elena's bedroom.

* * *

><p>Bonnie was leafing through Emily's spell book in one of the biology labs when Elena entered the room.<p>

Elena blinked, seeing Bonnie inside. "Sorry, are you busy?" She asked, hesitantly.

Bonnie swallowed hard, her feelings mixed when she saw Elena. "Um, no, you can come in." She paused. "Actually, I wanted you to see this." She said, slowly.

Elena frowned as she came closer to Bonnie, being able to see the book in her hands much clearer. "Is that Emily's grimoire?" She asked, curiously.

Bonnie nodded. "I've been going through it since Grams died. You might wanna check this out." She said, showing her a particular page in the book.

Elena's eyes widened as she took in the familiar picture that was sketched on the page. "That's the vampire compass." She whispered.

Bonnie nodded. "Yeah, according to Emily, Jonathan Gilbert never actually succeeded in inventing anything. Emily secretly spelled them all with magic. Compass, rings and the mystery device you told me about."

She showed her a page from the book, which depicted how the device was designed.

Elena nodded. "Yeah that's it. Well, a part of it. Damon only has the one piece."

"Yeah, Aliyah told me." Bonnie said, nonchalantly. "Emily pledged her loyalty to Katherine. But she couldn't stand by and watch innocent people get killed. This was the only way she could think of to help. To let Jonathan Gilbert believe that he'd actually invented these devices." She explained.

"Does it say what it does?" Elena asked, curiously.

Bonnie's eyes scoured the page. She paled. "Are you sure this is what Isobel wants?" She asked, carefully.

Elena nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure. Why?" She frowned.

Bonnie pursed her lips. "This is a weapon. _Against_ vampires." She explained, darkly.

Elena swallowed hard.

* * *

><p>"Isobel kidnapped Jeremy." Stefan explained to them in Alaric's classroom, while everyone was preparing for Founder's Day. "She wants the device in exchange for him."<p>

"Where is the device?" Aliyah asked, curiously.

Stefan sighed. "Damon has it. He's going to be difficult to reason with."

"We'll go to him, I'll talk to him." Elena offered.

Stefan shook his head. "He's not just gonna hand it over, especially if it's harmful to vampires."

"I could just kill him." Aliyah offered. Elena, Stefan and Bonnie glared at her. She sighed. "Okay, so not a plan."

"But wait, what if it's not harmful to vampires?" Elena said, her eyes widening as they searched for Bonnie's.

* * *

><p>"Absolutely not." Damon shook his head.<p>

"Just hear me out." Elena pleaded.

"I'm not gonna give the device to Isobel, so she could give it to John, who is going to turn it to kill me. I like being a living dead person." Damon scowled.

"At the risk of sounding like a total moron by agreeing with Damon Salvatore of all people, your plan won't work because Bonnie's not going to do the spell for you." Aliyah said, coldly. "Remember, Elena, we talked about this last night. Bonnie isn't your witch-for-hire." She said, dangerously.

Bonnie placed her hand on Aliyah's harm, softening her. "It's okay, Lee-Lee. I can do it. I'll explain it to you later." She said, softly.

Aliyah pursed her lips, clearly not pleased by Bonnie's decision, but nodded anyway. "Fine." She said, curtly.

"It'll be useless, Bonnie can take its power away." Elena told Damon, reassuringly.

Damon scowled at Aliyah and Bonnie. "I don't trust them." He said through gritted teeth.

Bonnie raised an eyebrow. "I can remove the original spell." She said, confidently.

"John and Isobel will never know." Elena said, excitedly.

Damon shook his head. "No, I'll get Jeremy in my own way."

"Really? How are you going to do that?" Stefan asked. "Because Isobel is a vampire and Jeremy could be dead the second you walk in the door." He pointed out.

Damon turned to Bonnie. "Are you even up for this? I mean no offense, you're no Emily Bennett. Emily knew what she was doing." He smirked.

Aliyah smiled, darkly. "You're right, she's no Emily Bennett. She's much better." She smirked.

Bonnie grinned at Aliyah. "I've been practicing."

"It's not piano lessons, honey." Damon said, condescendingly.

Bonnie growled, sick of Damon questioning her abilities. "What's your favourite book?" She asked, sharply.

Damon frowned in confusion. "What?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Name a book, any book." She ordered.

Damon raised an eyebrow. "Name a book… How about "Call of the Wild", Jack London?" He asked, smugly.

Bonnie spun on her feet and stared at the library, her eyes focused on the stacks upon stacks of books on the shelves. Suddenly, a single book flew out of the shelves and landed in Damon's hands. He looked down at the book with scepticism.

"Jack London. Great parlour trick." Damon scoffed.

Elena scowled. "We're doing this, Damon. And, we're doing it my way. Now, give me the device. We're wasting time!" She shouted.

Damon glared at Bonnie and then Aliyah, who simply stared at him, her face blank. "I don't trust the two of you, I tried to kill you." His eyes turned to Aliyah. "And your new BFF tried to kill me."

Bonnie smirked. "You're right, you can't trust us." She purred, feeling her magic thrum underneath her veins, ready to strike him down at a moment's notice.

There was a lot she had learnt from Aliyah in such a short time, and one of the most important lessons was to never let your enemies see you weak unless you want them to. She was fine with Damon thinking she was just some uppity schoolgirl wanting to try her hand at playing witch. It would make his pain at her hands so much sweeter when he realised just how wrong he really was about her.

"But you can trust me." Elena said, softly and endearingly.

Damon stared at her for a moment, something unreadable passing in his eyes as they softened around Elena. Stefan looked at them, worry over the suspicions that Isobel had raised brewing inside of him. Damon handed Elena the device and Stefan looked at him with suspicion.

"Thank you." Elena said, softly.

* * *

><p>Bonnie flipped open the pages of Emily's grimoire until she reached the page which depicted the spell that was placed on the Gilbert device. She placed the device next to the book and took in a deep breath, staring at Aliyah, uncertainly, for a moment. Aliyah nodded at her and Bonnie brimmed with the confidence that her friend had in her. Bonnie pursed her lips and began the spell, chanting under her breath, lowly, while Damon, Elena and Stefan looked at her with wonder, and Aliyah stared at her with pride.<p>

After a few moments, Bonnie took a sharp breath and sighed. "Done." She said, finally, and handed the device over to Elena.

"Great, now what?" Damon asked, looking at all of them, sceptically.

Elena shrugged. "Now, we give it to Isobel."

* * *

><p>Caroline and Bonnie sat in a booth at the Mystic Grill.<p>

Caroline regarded her friend with worry. "So, you're not going to tell me what happened?" She asked, sceptically.

Bonnie swallowed hard. "I did something bad, Caroline, and I lied about it." She whispered, weakly.

Caroline frowned, wondering what Bonnie could do that would be considered bad. Bonnie was one of the sweetest people she knew. Her idea of bad was bringing in an assignment a day late. "To who?" She asked, slowly.

Bonnie bit her lip. "To Elena. I pretended to do something I didn't really do." She confessed.

"What are you talking about?" Caroline asked her, confused.

Bonnie shook her head. "I couldn't do what she wanted me to do." She whispered. "It wasn't right. Grams would have never done it, and Aliyah didn't want me to do it, so I couldn't either. But when Elena finds out, she's never gonna forgive me."

* * *

><p>Bonnie walked back into the apartment, late at night, to find Aliyah sitting on the couch, sipping at a glass of bourbon.<p>

"Do you want to tell me what happened earlier with the device?" Aliyah asked, carefully, keeping her face blank.

Bonnie bit her lip, knowing that she couldn't keep it a secret from Aliyah for much longer, especially if she was going to have to convince her to leave Mystic Falls before the device was activated.

"Okay, you know how I said that I was removing the spell on the device?" Bonnie said, weakly. "I actually didn't."

Aliyah's face was stunned but she quickly recovered. "Okay, so, why did you lie?"

Bonnie bit her lip. "I couldn't, in good conscience, remove the spell, Lee-Lee." She whispered. "I mean, those tomb vampires are dangerous and Damon and Stefan have killed people before. What's to stop them from hurting more people?"

Aliyah nodded and placed the drink back down on the coffee table in front of her. She stood up and walked up to Bonnie. "And me?" She asked, slowly, wondering if Bonnie meant for her die as well. The device would most likely not affect her due to her being an Original, but that didn't mean that it wouldn't sting to know that Bonnie wanted her dead.

"No." Bonnie said, firmly. "I don't want you to die, Lee-Lee." She confessed. "Actually, I was coming here to convince you to leave Mystic Falls before the device gets used by John Gilbert." She said, softly. "I don't want you to be here when the device goes off, you'll get hurt and I don't want you to get hurt."

Aliyah felt her soften when she heard that Bonnie was trying to keep her safe from harm. It was such a long time since anyone had shown her that sort of concern outside of her family that she had almost forgotten what it felt like. Aliyah placed her hands on Bonnie's shoulder and leaned down, slightly, to look Bonnie in the eye.

"Bonnie, while that is very sweet of you, I am stronger than you think and there's no way I'm leaving you here, alone, in Mystic Falls." Aliyah said, determinedly. "You're my family now, Bonnie girl, and I protect my family with my life." She swore. "There are entirely too many vampires in Mystic Falls for me to leave you unprotected. I can handle the Gilbert device. I'm not going anywhere." She said, finally.

"But… but…" Bonnie stammered, feeling tears come to her eyes at the thought of Aliyah getting hurt.

"No, Bonnie, I refuse to leave you." Aliyah said, firmly. "Darling, nothing bad will happen to you or me, I promise."

Bonnie bit her lip. "Elena's never going to forgive me." She whispered, distraught. "If Stefan dies…" She trailed off.

"I don't know what to say, Bonnie…" Aliyah confessed. "I wish I could tell you everything's going to be alright, but I'm not too sure of that myself." She murmured. She cupped the younger girl's face in her hands. "Look, we'll deal with it when it happens, okay?" She said, softly, stroking Bonnie's cheeks.

Bonnie nodded, finding that there was nothing else she could do, and she finally lost control, the tears falling down her cheeks, steadily, and all Aliyah could do to comfort her was to draw her into an embrace, and allow Bonnie to sob her pain and fear away in her arms.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN**_: I'm glad I got the chance to write one really long chapter for this story, but I suppose that's what happens when you write two episodes in one chapter. I hope you all liked the Bonliyah scenes and the flashbacks of Aliyah in Mystic Falls in 1864 and the one of her and Elijah right after she transitioned. I thought, as a witch who turned into a vampire, she would need someone with a strong presence to guide her through the transition like Elijah, and I figure that Klaus was pretty much overwhelmed by what happened after his transition to be that person.

Aliyah got a chance to show her compassionate side with Alaric and Elena in this chapter, this doesn't mean she likes Elena by any means, but she does know how it feels to be rejected by her mother.

Bonnie and Aliyah are getting close. So close that Bonnie doesn't want Aliyah to get caught in the crossfire when the device gets used, so she tries to convince her to leave Mystic Falls, but Aliyah refuses, wanting to protect Bonnie instead.

I hope you also liked the scene between Isobel and Aliyah. I'm guessing, like John, that Isobel already knew about Original vampires from Katherine when she first came to Mystic Falls, but she didn't recognise Aliyah at first glance, only once she introduced herself. She's not protecting Elena because she likes her. She's protecting Elena because it would hurt Bonnie to see her friend die by Klaus' hands and she doesn't want that added complication between two people who she cares about.

Anyway, hope you all liked the chapter and don't forget to review.


	8. Founder's Day

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Vampire Diaries in any shape or form. But I do own my OC._

_**A/N**__: This is the season finale for Season 1. We may even see some present day Klaus in this chapter, as well as a flashback. So, enjoy._

_**Reviews**__:_

NicoleR85: Thanks, I'm so glad you liked this chapter!

Calliope's Scribe: Yep, it will be super emotional and angry and I plan on having them kind of skirt around each other for awhile. Unfortunately, they don't have the kind of relationship that can just be solved with a single reunion. They have a lot of work cut out for them if they (and by that, I mean Aliyah) want it to work. I did throw a Klaus POV in this chapter, so I hope you like the way I characterised mopey Klaus. He's definitely angry at his hellcat.

Guest: Thank you so much!

SkyewardMusicLover: Thank you so much!

LoveLiveLife22: Yes, Klaus and Aliyah will be together. And, as for the whole pregnant thing, as far as I know, Aliyah will not be getting pregnant in TVD.

Babaksmiles: I absolutely love Bonnie in this story. She and Aliyah definitely have this great relationship and Aliyah is most certainly very protective of Bonnie, and she definitely won't let Elena use her. Bonnie will be getting some romance in this chapter, so you'll have to read and find out who it is ;)

tate4eva: Thank you so much!

Linda Ku: Well, Season 2 should stay pretty much the same with Aliyah working her magic behind the scenes. I don't want to give a lot away, but I maybe changing something big to do with the sacrifice. Thank you so much! I'm glad you're liking Aliyah so much. I was really afraid introducing an OC into this story and I wanted to write a realistic Original OC who has been affected by spending a thousand years married to a guy who's slowly descended from this sweet human into this sociopathic vampire. I really want to write their reunion as well, both in Alaric's body and in his own body, it should be awesome!

**Stormdancer**

**Chapter 8**

**Founder's Day**

A man, in an apartment far, far away, stood in front of his easel, a paintbrush clutched, thoughtfully, in his hands. The painting never came right for him. All he had were his memories and the dozens upon dozens of sketches and paintings he had done for the last eighty-five years. It was all to stem the loneliness of not having her here at his side.

Sometimes, he felt the anger rush right through him. He would roar with the force of his range, the veins under his eyes rising and his eyes turning a bloody crimson, as remembered how she had dared to leave him. The impudence of the little chit that had ensnared him since the moment she had sweetly smiled at his toddler self as a baby. He raged at the nerve of her sneaking away from him at night, like she was nothing more than a warm body he had deigned to take his pleasure in.

_And not his wife._

Like a thief in the night. He supposed that comparison fit her well. She was a thief. That night, she had taken something of him away with her that he wouldn't get back until she was by his side once again.

And she would be.

He would bathe in the blood in whoever dared to keep her from him.

What he felt for her, _cities_ would fall before it.

She was his nirvana and he would have his nirvana.

At all costs.

* * *

><p>"Thank you so much for coming over to help me." Caroline gushed as she stared at her reflection in the mirror.<p>

"No problem at all, darling." Aliyah crooned, her voice slightly muffled by the pin she was biting into.

"I have absolutely no idea how to put this thing on," Caroline lifted up the skirt of her dress in emphasis. "And my mom's completely useless at things like this. She like only has one nice dress in her wardrobe _and I had to buy it for her_. Would you believe that?" She shook her head. Her eyes turned sad and longing. "Not to mention, she never has time for things like this. She's always working." She said, mournfully.

"I can't imagine that it's easy being the Sheriff of Mystic Falls." Aliyah pointed out, gently, wondering if this girl had been abandoned by her parents her all life. She had heard from Bonnie that Caroline's father had left Liz for another man when Caroline was much younger and Liz Forbes was a sort of workaholic. She imagined Caroline had felt quickly lonely throughout her life. "But, never fear, darling. I'm here and I'm practically a professional at doing this." Her needle slid through the hemline of the dress, making it much shorter and adjusting the length of the dress so that it fit Caroline much better.

Caroline's hands smoothed down the crushed silk of the skirt. "It looks much better, Aliyah." She looked down at the older woman who was kneeling in front of Caroline as she worked on the dress. "Thank you so much. I don't know what I would have done without you."

"No problem at all." Aliyah murmured, standing up and roving her eyes over the dress, making sure that the dress fit Caroline perfectly. "Okay, you can slip it off now." She ordered.

Caroline nodded and allowed the sleeves to slip over her shoulders, letting the dress fall to her feet in a pile, leaving her in her underwear. She picked it up, smoothing it over her arm and draped it over the back of the chair in her bedroom. "What now?" She asked, curiously.

"Um, first, chemise." Aliyah held up the simple lace shift and allowed Caroline to slip it on, the soft material falling to her knees and the cool lace soothing her skin. She moved so that she was standing behind Caroline, both of them staring at Caroline's reflection in the mirror. "Now, I'm gonna fix your corset. Warning, this will be painful." She allowed Caroline to hold the front of the corset against her bust, waiting for Caroline to fix up the front fastening busk, fitting it comfortably over her stomach.

Caroline positioned it carefully against her torso, as Aliyah pulled the back around Caroline and pulled the two ends of the corset together along the line of Caroline's spine. She pushed the lacing through all of the grommets until the two strands came in the middle.

Caroline hitched in a breath, as the hard material became tighter more and more, leaving her breathless and her ribs aching. "Wow, this is like hell." She wheezed. "How did women wear this in the 19th century?"

Aliyah snorted, remembering how Niklaus had cursed her corset again and again and had settled to simply tearing at the laces and the corset until they were simply scraps of silk and lace on the bed, before he tipped her back onto the bed and kissed her until she was wanton and mewling in his arms.

"I have wondered the same thing _so many times_." Aliyah shook her head, mournfully.

_Sometimes even in the 19__th__ century_.

"Where did you learn how to do all of this, by the way?" Caroline asked, curiously.

"I… had a very avid adolescence, where I did things like this all the time. I've forgotten how many parties I have been to where the theme was the 19th century." Aliyah chuckled, shaking her head. "Not to mention, my husband came from old money and his family liked to relive their glory days." She shrugged.

"Well," Caroline sighed. "You're a life saver." She said, sweetly.

Aliyah laughed. "You'll feel differently when I pull these laces, darling." She smirked. "Okay, take a deep breath and suck your stomach in." She warned. She yanked on the laces in the middle and pulled them tighter and tighter, all the time seeing the expression of utter agony on Caroline's face. Finally, Aliyah was pleased with how tight the laces were, making sure that it was acceptable against Caroline's figure before she tied it into a tight bow.

"Oof." Caroline rasped. "What is the point of these things?" She hissed, feeling her breath relax as she became used to the feeling of the corset constricting her torso.

"Well, corsets were used to raise and shape the breasts." Aliyah mimed pushing her breasts up. "They tighten the midriff, support the back and improve posture to help a woman stand straight. You know, because whale bones make it hard for you to bend." She rolled her eyes. "To be fair, I think most women had irreparable damage done to their bone structure and lungs." She mused.

Caroline groaned. "Please don't say that while I'm wearing this dress." She pleaded, weakly.

Aliyah laughed. "I'm pretty sure all of that fainting and swooning that went on in Victorian times was because of the corsets and not because of any impropriety that was going on." She joked. She observed Caroline's appearance in the mirror, staring at the pretty blonde with interest. "You look very lush, darling."

"Lush?" Caroline's brow furrowed.

"It means 'hot'." Aliyah explained. "Now, to get this dress on you." She lifted up the dress from the chair and slipped it over Caroline's head, giving Caroline some time to slide her arms through the sleeves, the rolled up sleeves falling to her elbow. She buttoned up the back of the dress and smoothed it across her the line of her back. She sighed, pleased. "You look lovely, darling."

Caroline sighed. "Thanks for this, Aliyah. You don't know how grateful I am for this." She said, sweetly, turning around and throwing her arms around Aliyah's neck, much to the latter's surprise, who, hesitantly, wrapped his arms around Caroline's slim body and patted her back. "Actually, I have one more favour to ask." She asked, hesitantly.

Aliyah blinked. "Sure, darling, what is it?" She asked, curiously.

"Well, you seem to be a professional at this sort of thing. Would you mind doing my hair and makeup?" She asked, softly, biting her lower lip.

Aliyah cracked a smile. "Sure, what the hell. I have time to kill before Bonnie gets back after changing for the parade." She shrugged. She pulled Caroline over to her vanity and made her sit down, pulling over the chair and taking a seat beside her. "Okay, did you have an idea of how you wanted your hair to look?" She asked.

Caroline shrugged. "Something simple." She said, shyly, not really used to all of the attention.

"Well, you have lovely hair. It has great length and volume. I think you should go with a simple hairstyle." She lifted up two thick locks right beside her face and pinned it back behind her with diamante bobby pins. "How does this look? It frames your face nicely and it doesn't detract away from the rest of your appearance. If we curl your hair in ringlets, it'll be perfectly 19th century." She murmured.

Caroline nodded and watched with interest as Aliyah carefully curled every single lock of her blonde hair, until it fell in near curls just past her shoulders. Caroline stared at herself in the mirror, unable to believe that the sweet face that was shown back to her was actually her. She bit her lip and glanced at Aliyah out of the corner of her eye, wondering exactly why Aliyah was willing to do all of this for her.

"Thanks, Aliyah." Caroline said, quietly. "I don't know what I would have done if you weren't there." She laughed, harshly. "I don't even know you that well and you're already nicer to me than most people."

Aliyah raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" She asked, carefully.

"Well, most people write me off as being shallow and an airhead." She turned away from her reflection. "My ex, Damon, he called me stupid, shallow and useless." She felt tears coming to her eyes at the way her stomach had fell into her feet and her skin had chilled when she heard Damon hiss that at her all that long ago.

Aliyah gritted her teeth and resisted the urge to flash over to Damon Salvatore and rip his head off his shoulders and turn the rest of his body into kindling. She allowed herself to relax and the anger to drain out of her veins.

"Caroline," Aliyah began, softly. "If there is something I have learnt about men after being married twice, it is that if a woman measures herself against what a man expects of her, she will _always_ fail, darling." She murmured, laying a hand on Caroline's shoulder. "Men lash out and hurt women, but there is no law that women have to accept it."

Caroline felt her lower lip tremble as the tears fell, slowly. "Even my mom looks at me like that." She whispered. "Like I'm just this blonde bimbo whose head is completely empty."

Aliyah shifted. "Caroline, I haven't been here for very long and I haven't known you for very long, but from what I've seen of you and from what Bonnie's told me about you, I like you. You're not stupid. A stupid person wouldn't have been able to win Miss Mystic Falls and dedicate her time to this town as much as you do. You can be a bit neurotic and I'm sure you're selfish, but do you know something? Everyone's selfish. People who have the nerve to call you shallow and useless are just hiding the fact that they're actually shallow and useless."

Suddenly, Aliyah remembered having a similar conversation with a sobbing Rebekah a thousand years ago, after a particularly harsh confrontation with Tatia and some of the other village girls, and was struck with how similar the two blonde girls were.

Caroline wiped away the tears that had fallen onto her cheeks. "Why are you saying all of this to me?" She murmured in disbelief.

"Because I'm a strong believer in not letting other people define who you are." Aliyah said, determinedly. "I see you and I see a girl who is loyal, beautiful and determined. You have faults, but so does everyone. The important thing is not to be defined by your faults. You're Miss Mystic Falls, aren't you?"

Caroline nodded, weakly.

"Don't let the bastards grind you down." She said, sternly. "Go out there and show them exactly what being Miss Mystic Falls means." She said, encouragingly. She pulled a tissue from a box on the vanity and scrubbed Caroline's face clear of the tears. "Now, there's no need for you to cry. You're one of the most important people in this parade and you can't look less than stunning." She said, determinedly.

Caroline gave one last sniffle. "What are you going to do about makeup?" She asked, carefully, her voice a little hoarse from emotion.

Aliyah's lips turned up at the corners. "Well, the trick to makeup is to look like you're not actually wearing any. And the Victorian era was big on that as well. Pale skin was a must, and you're quite pale on your own, so I think we'll stick with some sheer foundation." She dipped a sponge in the foundation and marked it across Caroline's face, leaving her face clear and resembling fine porcelain. "They didn't actually have lipstick back in 1864, but I think we'll cheat and use a light pink lip gloss." She whispered, conspiratorially, and painted her lips a slightly darker pink than her usual tone.

"Blush?" Caroline asked, curiously.

"Rouge is for whores." Aliyah said, bluntly, remembering how many times she had told Rebekah that in the 1800s, and laughed when she saw the horrified look on Caroline's face. "Makeup in the 1860s was for actors and prostitutes mostly, but I'm sure quite a few ladies cheated with the odd foundation." She shrugged. "We live in a day and age where makeup is a must for women. And I suppose you're already wearing a bra and panties, so there's no harm in bending the rules a little bit." She shrugged.

Bonnie opened the door and walked in. "I brought the camera." She looked, pointedly, at Aliyah, who rolled her eyes.

"What would I do with you?" Aliyah asked, her eyes softening as she took in Bonnie's form in her mauve cardigan, turquoise and purple patterned top and dark jeans.

Bonnie sighed. "Sometimes I wonder." She shook her head. She smiled when she saw Caroline. "Wow, Care, you look beautiful." She said, sincerely.

"It's all thanks to Aliyah." Caroline said, cheerfully. "She's a genius at this." She shook her head in disbelief. "Seriously, you should open your own beauty salon."

Aliyah laughed. "I love that idea." She mused. "I might actually take you up on that."

"Are you both done?" Bonnie asked, curiously. "Because I think we're running out of time. Caroline's supposed to be in the Town Square by noon." She turned to Caroline. "Is Matt picking you up from here or is he meeting you in the Town Square?"

Caroline stood away from the vanity. "Matt told me he had a shift at the Grill in the morning, but he got the afternoon off, so he said he'd just meet me at the Square." She explained.

"Do you want a ride?" Aliyah asked. "I'm driving up there with Bonnie away. And you probably shouldn't be driving on your own in that dress."

"Would you mind?" Caroline asked, hesitantly.

"No problem." Aliyah shrugged. "I've got room."

Bonnie grinned at Caroline. "You should see her car, Care. It's hot as hell."

* * *

><p>"No, no, no, no, no! It's all wrong! The marching band should be in front of the Historic Society. Matt, get up on the float. Boys, I asked you to put chairs on the Founder's Float. Ladies! Time to get on the float." Carol Lockwood shouted, sounding very much like a drill sergeant, as she supervised all of the Miss Mystic Falls nominees and their escorts.<p>

Stefan was standing alone, waiting, when Damon joined him.

"Look at you, all retro." Damon smirked, looking down at Stefan in his 1860s outfit, looking very much at home in the clothes.

Stefan frowned. "What are you doing here?" He asked, suspiciously.

Damon raised an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't I be here? Bonnie deactivated the Gilbert invention, Isobel is gone and it's Founder's Day! I'm here to eat cotton candy and steal your girl." He said, playfully.

"Don't start with me, Damon." Stefan growled.

"Oh, you started this, Stefan, with that whole 'I'm insecure, leave Elena alone' speech. I'm enjoying that." Damon pointed out.

"So, it is starting, then?" Aliyah smirked as she walked over to them, camera hung around her neck. "I thought it would take just a bit longer. But it is a Petrova curse after all." She said, almost mournfully.

She wore a long white lace dress with a long ruby and pearl necklace around her neck. The sleeves of the dress were arranged so that they were irregular; one side resembling a thick spaghetti strap and the other one was a proper sleeve that came up to her elbow. Her feet were graced by simple black stilettos that contrasted against her tanned skin and white dress. Her hair was out and slightly wavy, coming to the middle of her back, looking very much like some Bohemian out of a magazine photoshoot.

Stefan chose to ignore her and turned to Damon. "As long as you heard it." He said, steely.

"What? You have no sense of humour, Stefan." Damon shook his head.

"Actually I've no sense of 'Damon humour'." Stefan corrected.

"Which is shagging your brother's girlfriend because she looks like the spitting image of the girl who screwed you over one and a half centuries ago." Aliyah finished.

Damon shrugged. "Hey, look, I get it, I get it. I'm the better, hotter, superior choice," Aliyah snorted in derision. "And you're scared. Now, that Katherine is out of the picture, that I'm gonna turn all my attention to Elena. But don't worry, Elena is not Katherine." He said, reassuringly.

"You're right, she's not." Stefan said, coldly.

Aliyah's attention was diverted to somewhere ahead of where she, Damon and Stefan were standing. "You may have said that a little too soon." She muttered.

She paled. All she could see was the silver necklace that hung around Elena's neck. It was a simple silver chain with a silver, circular locket acting as the pendant, a ruby inscribed at the top of the locket. She swallowed hard. It was Esther's necklace, then Rebekah's necklace. The only thing connecting Rebekah to Elena at this point in time was their shared affection for Stefan and she guessed that the necklace must have been a gift to Elena from Stefan. But how would Stefan have gotten a hold of it in the first place? Rebekah hadn't taken off that necklace in a thousand years.

_Rebekah's going to be beyond pissed off when she sees that necklace on a Petrova doppelganger._

_She might even kill her._

_Now, wouldn't that be fun?_

Damon and Stefan turned to see Elena approaching. She wore a goldenrod yellow dress, which had a pale green sash wrapped around her tiny waist. The sleeves were off the shoulder and the same pale green colour as the sash around her waist. Her hair was curled, as a contrast to her usually straight brown hair, falling just past her shoulders, and a few curls were pinned back, a red rose in her hair. Damon and Stefan swallowed hard, the resemblance to Katherine, now that she was wearing 19th century clothing, eerily similar.

Elena saw them staring at her, smiled, sweetly, and curtsied.

* * *

><p>Caroline and Matt were posing in front of the float, wearing their Civil War costumes. Caroline wore a lemon yellow dress that puffed out at her waist and had ruffled sleeves that came up to her elbow. Her hair was curled, ending just above her shoulders, and had a few strands pinned back by silver clips. Matt wore a simple black suit and a murky green tie.<p>

Bonnie smiled at them, having stolen Aliyah's camera, while the older woman stood behind them.

"Say cheese!" She called out, grinning.

Before she could press down on the button, Caroline interrupted her and turned to Matt.

"Oh, wait! Hide your cast, it's not era-appropriate!" She protested.

"Seriously?" Matt rolled his eyes.

"'Yes!" Caroline said.

"Okay, fine." Matt sighed and made sure that his cast was properly hidden.

Bonnie pressed down and a flash sounded as the camera took the picture of the happy couple. Tyler, wearing a traditional Civil War uniform, walked up to them.

"I want one with Bonnie now." Caroline declared, much to Aliyah's amusement.

"Here, I can take it." Tyler offered and took the camera from Bonnie.

Matt stared at him, clearly displeased. Aliyah vaguely remembered Bonnie mentioning that Tyler had kissed that awful drunk woman that Matt was forced to call mother at that Kick-Off Party where she had threatened John Gilbert.

Matt gave Tyler a flinty look. "I'll be on the float." He told Caroline and left.

Tyler looked at Caroline, who simply stared at him with admonishment in her gaze. "I said I was sorry!" He protested.

"You made out with his mother and then you beat him to a pulp. You're gonna have to do a little bit better than sorry." Caroline pointed out, rolling her eyes, and left.

Tyler turned to Bonnie. "I have no idea what to do." He sighed.

"Maybe you should just give it time, Ty." Bonnie pointed out. "Let Matt get over it." She said, softly. "He will, in time."

Aliyah watched with interest as Tyler's eyes softened around Bonnie's, his eyes roving over her face, worriedly. She hid a smile, wondering if there was something between them that Bonnie hadn't told her about.

"How are you, Bonnie Rabbit?" Tyler asked, softly.

Bonnie cracked a smile at the nickname he hadn't used on her in years. She remembered the times when she used to hide out at her grandmother's house when she was younger, and Tyler would sneak over and come to play with her, away from the attentions of his abusive father, and all to play with her. She remembered the possessiveness he had exuded when it came to her, determined that Bonnie was his 'Bonnie Rabbit' and no one else's. He had never allowed another boy or girl to play with her, only Caroline and Elena.

He had been her first kiss, an awkward peck when she was twelve. And then spoiled behaviour, angry outbursts and puberty had kicked in and Tyler had walked away from her, preferring the company of his football friends and Matt, and she had buried her sadness deep down inside of her and resigned herself to Caroline's and Elena's friendship. But then, they had come back together one alcohol fuelled night and lost their virginities to each other in a blaze of heated touches and hazy memories. Bonnie still trembled at the memory of how Tyler's hands felt on her bare skin, the way his tanned skin contrasted against her dusky hue, the way she had arched herself into his touch, the awkwardness of a first time disappearing when his lips had trailed down her quivering body. The next morning had been painfully awkward enough without having to add the drama of a relationship afterwards. They had walked away from each other after that episode and never spoken of it once.

And then Elena and Matt had started dating and Tyler and Bonnie had been pushed together all over again. It had been a shy and awkward reunion, but they managed to fall back into familiar steps with him. They didn't see each other very often, only when Matt and Elena hung out together, but when they did, they were inseparable. Tyler had always been _her_ boy.

She placed a hand on his arm, her fingers stroking over the tweed of his frock coat. "I'm better now, Tyler." She said, sweetly.

Aliyah cleared her throat from behind them, her head cocked towards the sight as she regarded the pair. Both – dark-haired, one with fair skin and the other with tawny skin – turned to look at her. Bonnie looked almost elfin compared to Tyler's more thewy build. She had the errant thought that Tyler and Bonnie would have beautiful children together. She hid a smile, thinking that they reminded her much of what she and Niklaus looked like when they were standing next to each other. In fact, the similarities were uncanny. The untriggered werewolf with the abusive father and negligent mother, and the lonely witch with an absentee father and a maternal figure that had become her everything.

It was like looking in a mirror.

"Oh, right," Bonnie's eyes widened, and she flushed. "Ty, this is my… cousin, Aliyah. Aliyah, this is Tyler Lockwood. We grew up together."

Aliyah watched, interestedly, as Tyler stretched his hand out for her to shake. "You're the photojournalist my mom's been talking about." Tyler said, recognition dawning in his eyes.

Aliyah smiled. "Yes, I am. It's nice to meet you, Tyler, I've heard a lot about you." She murmured.

Tyler grinned at her. "If it came from Bonnie, it's all lies, I promise." He joked.

"I'm sure it was." Aliyah said, playfully.

"Oh, very funny, you two." Bonnie rolled her eyes. She turned to Tyler. "You need to be getting on your float. Don't go actually hurting Jeremy, Ty. Remember, it's just for pretend." She said, playfully. "So, go put yourself on display for the town, sugar. I'll see you later."

Tyler rolled his eyes. "See you soon, Bonnie Rabbit." He leaned down and kissed her cheek. He smiled at Aliyah. "It was nice meeting you, Aliyah."

"You too, Tyler." Aliyah grinned and watched as the boy walked away from them. She turned to Bonnie. "Now, that was interesting." She said, warmly.

Bonnie frowned and looked at her, her brow furrowing. "What do you mean?" She asked, confused.

"Are you and him…?" Aliyah asked, suggestively, smirking.

Bonnie raised an eyebrow and shook her head. "You're delusional. We're just friends." She protested, weakly.

"But do you want it to be more?" Aliyah asked, curiously. "The way he acts around you… He's mad for you, darling. I can see it." She said, seriously.

Bonnie shook her head. "You're reading too much into it, Lee-Lee. Ty's a spoilt, rich playboy and I'm the quiet best friend of Elena Gilbert and Caroline Forbes… it would never work out." She shrugged.

"Bonnie," Aliyah sighed. "Don't write yourself off like that. You're more than just their friends. You're a witch. A very powerful witch. You're smart, loyal, funny, interesting, kind and beautiful. If you feel something for this boy, you should go for it, consequences be damned. You're too young to be thinking about consequences."

* * *

><p>The floats were driving down the main road around the town square, while Carol Lockwood stood off to the side but in full view of the entire gathering as she commentated.<p>

"Let's give a big hand to the Mystic Fall High School Marching Band!" Carol called out, beaming.

The marching band and the cheerleaders strode down the street, while everyone applauded and screamed.

"And for a little local history, Mr Saltzman's students have recreated Virginia's Battle of Willow Creek."

The float arrived in the street and Bonnie beamed, seeing Tyler standing tall and proud in it, looking very handsome in his Civil War Uniform. He smiled, widely, when he saw her in the car, practically on her heels, standing next to Aliyah, and waved to her, his smile only widening when she grinned back. He turned to the side and pretending to shoot at Jeremy, who was standing on the other end of the float.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our stunning Miss Mystic Falls Court and their handsome escorts."

Elena, Stefan, Caroline and Matt, and the rest of the Mystic Falls Court and their escorts stood on the float. They laughed and waved to the crowd.

"This is Caroline Forbes, Miss Mystic Falls. Aren't they beautiful?"

Bonnie smiled and waved at Caroline and Elena. Elena smiled and waved back to Bonnie. Just then, Damon stepped in front of Bonnie and Aliyah and stopped, smiled and waved to Elena, as if in Bonnie's place. Elena rolled her eyes and deliberately looked away. She looked at Stefan, who waved to the rest of the crowd. Damon turned around and saw Bonnie glaring at him from behind. Next to her, Aliyah tensed, minutely, and prepared herself to take a step forward to protect Bonnie if need be.

"Walk away, Salvatore." Aliyah said, coldly. "Unless you want me to hurt you."

Bonnie scowled at Damon. The fury that rushed through her at that precise moment made her see red. Her fists clenched and she could feel her magic rear up around her, ready to strike him down at a moment's notice.

"What do you want?" She snapped, clutching onto Aliyah's hand.

Damon shrugged. "Just watching the parade." He said, innocently.

Aliyah narrowed her eyes. "Tosh." She snapped. She attempted to drag Bonnie away.

"Where are you going?" Damon asked, interestedly.

Bonnie snorted, only too eager to escape Damon's presence. "Away from you." She said, scathingly.

"I wanna say something to you."

"Just leave me alone!" Bonnie hissed.

"Thank you." Damon said, sincerely, and Bonnie's jaw dropped. "The device that Emily spelled could have killed me. I don't take what you did lightly so… thank you." He repeated.

Bonnie's shoulders slumped, remembering that she hadn't actually removed the spell on the device. And Aliyah had refused to leave town until after the Founders' Council had activated it. All she knew was she would have to wait until they activated it to see whether it worked on her or not. Bonnie was hoping that the protection spell that Aliyah's mother placed on her would be enough to combat the effects of the spell.

"I did it for Elena." Bonnie said, half-heartedly.

"I know that, but I'm still very grateful. And… I owe you." Damon said, finally. Bonnie bit her lip as she looked at him. "Enjoy the parade." He told her and Aliyah and left them.

Aliyah narrowed her eyes at the icy look that adorned Bonnie's face and nodded, approvingly. "Don't believe him. You're smart, Bonnie. Very smart. Trust me, he doesn't care, darling. He'll use you the first chance he gets to do whatever it takes to save Elena's life _only_. If you become collateral damage in his venture, he won't give you a second thought."

Bonnie nodded, emphatically, her eyes narrowing at Damon's retreating figure as he moved through the crowds.

"You're right, Aliyah." Bonnie said, coldly. "Damon Salvatore is not a good person. He's the reason why I don't feel guilty at all for not actually putting the spell on the device."

"Let's cheer for the Mystic Fall High School football team. Alright! Let's show them our support, everybody!"

* * *

><p>Jeremy was walking through the town square, not noticing that Damon was right behind him. He almost stumbled when he saw Damon take his place at his side.<p>

"'I have so many emotions, but I don't have any way to express them. Being a teenager is so hard!'" Damon said, mockingly.

Jeremy scowled. "You're a dick."

"You do not talk to me like that!" Damon snarled. "I'm not your sister. And for now on," Damon grabbed onto Jeremy's arm with a firm yet punishing grip. "Don't talk to your sister that way either." He said, warningly, his voice deadly.

Jeremy raised an eyebrow, ignoring the way his stomach fluttered in fear. "So, you're going to kill me just because I hurt Elena's feelings?" He asked, incredulously.

"Cut her some slack." Damon said, pointedly.

"She erased my memories." Jeremy protested.

"No, I did! She was protecting you."

Jeremy glared at him. "It wasn't her call to make." He tried to push past Damon, but the grip on his arm prevented him. "Let go of me before I cause a scene." He hissed.

Damon smirked. "You'll be unconscious before you even got a word out."

"And you'll be dead before you could try." Aliyah said, coldly, from behind him.

Damon tensed and released him. Aliyah walked forwards, having seen the confrontation from her place in the crowd, her senses attuned to whatever mischief or damage that Damon could perform, and placed herself in between Damon and Jeremy, much to Jeremy's confusion and disbelief. The woman in front of him was small and sweet, compared to the much larger and brawny figure that Damon cut. He couldn't understand why she was protecting him. Stefan finally joined them as well, turning wary and furious eyes onto Damon.

Aliyah turned to Jeremy. "Are you alright?" She asked, formally, having had no prior dialogue to Jeremy other than that night where she had a drink with Jenna at the Gilbert House.

Jeremy nodded, a little confused. "Yeah."

Stefan kept his eyes on Damon, however. "What my brother is trying to say is, don't blame Elena for this. Damon turned Vicki; I killed her. She was a threat to you, and she was a threat to your sister. I'm sorry that it happened, I wish that it hadn't."

Damon rolled his eyes.

Jeremy scowled. "You shouldn't have made me forget." He said, before he walked away from the three.

"Good cop, bad cop, I like it." Damon smirked.

Stefan frowned in suspicion. "What are you doing?"

"He's being a punk." Damon protested.

"What the hell does that have to do with you?" Aliyah snapped.

"Elena's relationship with her brother is none of your business. So stay out of it!" Stefan snarled.

"Oh, there's only one "do-gooder" role available. My bad. I'm sorry." Damon said, mockingly, and laughed.

"Get over yourself. We both know you're not doing this for the right reasons." Stefan rolled his eyes.

"Yes, he really wants to shag your girlfriend." Aliyah said, her lips turning at the corners. Her eyes searched the rest of the town square and saw Bonnie beckoning her over. "Well, that's my queue to leave." She murmured and walked back in Bonnie's direction.

"You see, there you go with that little jealousy act again. What are the right reasons, Stefan? Enlighten me, please!" Damon crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well, see, Damon, it's only real when it comes from your desire to do the right thing for nothing in return, and I know that it is an entirely foreign concept to you. I completely understand that you wouldn't get it." Stefan said, coldly.

* * *

><p>Damon stormed up to Aliyah.<p>

"We have a problem." He said, tersely.

"What is it now?" Aliyah scowled.

"The tomb vampires are here and the Founding Families are their target. That means Elena… and Blondie, because you seem to care about her. But something tells me that if they get a look at your little witch, they won't mind taking a snack on her too." Damon said, quickly.

"Oh, hell." Aliyah hissed. "Who else knows about this?"

"Ric's gone to get stakes and vervain darts from his car. I told Stefan to get Elena out of here. The only one that's here is our resident witch. Get her out of here and come back and help me." Damon told her.

Aliyah hissed out of her teeth. "Fine." She snapped. "I'll get Bonnie out of here and you see if you can find out anything more." She turned on her heel to leave, but Damon stopped her.

"I think John's going to activate the device when the fireworks start. That's when the tomb vampires are due to attack."

Aliyah cursed. "Bloody hell." She kept her face blank. "The device has been deactivated. It is of no concern to us. Just keep the tomb vampires from biting innocent townspeople." She said, coldly.

She spun on her feet and her eyes search out Bonnie. Her senses tingled as she searched for the scent of the one person alive, other than Abby Bennett, who was directly descended from her line. Bonnie's blood called out to her in a way that she had only experienced from a few people. She presumed it was due to the extent of Bonnie's magic, her scent only becoming more and more fiercer as her magic developed. It made finding her extremely easy, like finding a needle on top of a haystack.

* * *

><p>Mayor Lockwood stood on a podium in the middle of the Town Square, surrounded by throngs of Mystic Falls citizens who had eagerly joined to witness the culmination of the hundred and fiftieth year anniversary of the small town's founding.<p>

"For one hundred and fifty years, Mystic Falls has been the kind of town that everybody wants to call home: safe, prosperous, welcoming. And we have the Founders to thank for that. That's why I'd like to dedicate this evening's firework display to their legacy."

Everyone applauded. Bonnie startled when she felt Aliyah's slim hand falling to grip her wrist.

"What's wrong?" Bonnie asked, worriedly.

Aliyah leaned down, making sure that there was no other vampire in their vicinity that could hear their conversation. "The tomb vampires are making their move. Their target is the Founding Families. Stefan has been entrusted to Elena's safety. Caroline, Matt and your Tyler have vacated the Town Square. You're the only one left."

"He's not _my_ Tyler." Bonnie hissed.

Aliyah smirked. "Ha, you keep thinking that, Bonnie girl. And when you two have adorable babies and name me godmother, I will tell you 'I told you so'." She said, sweetly. "Now, time to go, darling. You have to be out of the line of fire."

"But the Gilbert device-" Bonnie protested. "If it goes off, I need to be able to protect you from John Gilbert and the Founders' Council."

Aliyah chuckled, feeling her insides warm at the thought of Bonnie's growing endearment towards her to the extent that she would want to protect her, a vampire, from humans.

"I will be fine, Bonnie girl." She swore, her hands falling to grip Bonnie's slim shoulders. "I swear it. I've been around awhile. I have quite the high pain tolerance." _Wasn't that the truth?_ "I need to make sure that you are safe, Bonnie. I need you to leave." She said, softly. "I can't concentrate on killing the tomb vampires as well as protecting you from them, Bonnie."

Bonnie shook her head, stubbornly. "I'm not leaving you. I can take care of myself." She said, finally.

Aliyah gritted her teeth, wondering why she was so stubborn when obstinacy was legendary in the Bennett family, a trait that she held dearly herself.

"Fine." Aliyah said, coldly. "But if it gets too much for you, you run, Bonnie. And you do not look back. Do you understand me?"

Bonnie nodded a little hesitantly.

"Enjoy the show!" Mayor Lockwood called out, beaming from the podium.

The fireworks blared above the crowd and they all cheered as the sparks lit up the sky, silhouetting their faces in the bright light. Aliyah watched as Mayor Lockwood and Carol walked away from the podium, their bodies tense as they attempted to escape from the carnage that would soon follow. Aliyah pursed her lips when she saw tomb vampires following them on their way. They came into her line of sight and her hand tightened around Bonnie's, warningly.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry." The leader of the tomb vampires apologised when he bumped into Bonnie.

Aliyah pulled Bonnie into her.

Bonnie gave them a half-hearted smile. "I'm sorry." She swallowed hard, looking at his departed form. "He's a vampire." She mouthed at Aliyah.

She nodded. She looked back to make sure that the vampires were out of hearing range. "A tomb vampire. Keep walking. Act natural." She hissed out of her teeth.

Suddenly, Aliyah stopped moving.

She could feel the pressure hitting her head like a lorry. But it felt second-hand, as if it were not actually happening to her. It didn't actually hurt her, but it felt like the many other times a witch had been stupid or negligent enough to attempt to attack her. She took in a deep breath and allowed the strange feeling to pass away, allowing her senses to clear. Her hearing stretched out and she could hear the vague screams of the tomb vampires, Stefan, Damon and Anna, who had collapsed to the ground as pain as hot as white-hot iron struck them in their heads.

"The Gilbert device has been activated." Aliyah said, lowly.

Bonnie's eyes turned wide and panicked. She clutched onto Aliyah's arms with whatever grip she could muster.

"Are you okay?" She whispered, hurriedly, her eyes wild and terrified. Her hands trembled with the force of her fear that she may have indirectly caused Aliyah to experience considerable pain at the device she had failed to deactivate.

"I'm fine." Aliyah said, reassuringly, her voice steady and firm. "I truly am, Bonnie. The device didn't affect me. It must be the protection spell that my mother cast. It was strong enough to neutralise the effects of the Gilbert device."

Bonnie bit her lip, feeling tears unwillingly coming to her eyes. She trembled. Aliyah pursed her lips, seeing that Bonnie was about to about to sob her heart out. She wrapped her arms around the young girl and brought her into her chest, stroking her hand against her hair, her fingers twisting into Bonnie's waves.

"I'm fine, Bonnie girl." She said, soothingly. "I really am. And I'm not saying that just for your benefit, darling." She pulled back, looking Bonnie in the eye. "You did good, darling. I am so proud of you." She whispered.

"Should we go find the others?" Bonnie whispered.

Aliyah's shoulders slumped. "If we have to." She grumbled.

* * *

><p>Aliyah and Bonnie walked up to Grayson Gilbert's office. Aliyah could tell by the distant screams of the tomb vampires and the sound of wood sinking into flesh that this was where the Council was dragging in all of the fallen vampires.<p>

"This is the place." Aliyah muttered, her eyes wandering over the building until they fell onto an emergency door. "There has to be an entrance from which the Council can drag the vampires in. It must be the emergency door." She said, coldly.

"There's fire, Aliyah." Bonnie hissed.

Aliyah nodded. "A sure-fire way to take out all of the vampires." She explained, lowly.

They watched as Stefan ran up to the emergency door, his eyes wild, and Aliyah wondered how quickly it had taken him to recover from the effects of the Gilbert device.

"Hey, you can't go in there!" Bonnie protested.

"I beg to differ." Aliyah muttered under her breath.

Life for would be so much simpler if the Salvatore brothers would just jump into the fire-ridden building and be burnt to a crisp.

Stefan ignored Bonnie's warning and opened the emergency door.

"The fire will take you out." Aliyah pointed out.

"He's my brother!" Stefan protested.

He ran inside the building and tried to open the door to the basement, but the doorknob was glowing red from the force of the heat. Bonnie was watching the building, knowing that it wasn't in her to let innocent people died, but there was that dark voice in her mind that whispered that the Salvatore brothers deserved everything they got.

"Stefan!" Bonnie heard Elena scream, rushing up to the office which had once housed her father's practice.

Bonnie couldn't let innocent people die. No matter how angry she may be at Elena.

"Elena, you can't go in there!" Bonnie protested.

Elena frowned. "Bonnie, what are you doing?"

"They're vampires, Elena. They've killed so many people. They deserve to die." Bonnie said, coldly.

"I agree with you, wholeheartedly, but not now." Aliyah said, finally. She leaned down to whisper something in Bonnie's ear, much to Elena's disbelief. "Unfortunately, we need them to protect Elena."

"I can protect Elena." Bonnie hissed.

"Yes, but I'd rather have two fools that are intent on dying for her, than you. They are an acceptable loss to me, Bonnie girl. You are not." Aliyah said, sternly.

Bonnie pursed her lips. "For Elena, then." She said, almost accusingly. She wondered if the woman in front of her, _her family_, had only stayed in Mystic Falls for _Elena's _sake. She wondered if she had lost something else to Elena Gilbert yet again.

"No," Aliyah's voice turned icy. "For you. Everything I do in this bloody town is for you, Bonnie Bennett." Her voice softened. "I will explain _everything_ to you later, I give you my word."

Bonnie took in a sharp breath and closed her eyes, her body trembling with the force of her magic as she unleashed it towards the building.

"_Ex spiritum intacullum, in terrum incendium, fes matos salvis adisdum_." She mumbled.

"Bonnie, I've got to get in there!" Elena screamed.

"Not until Bonnie's gotten rid of all the fire." Aliyah snapped.

Bonnie kept reciting the words of the spell. In the building, Stefan was finally able to open the door but the fire inside the basement was too large. Suddenly, the flames diminished, as a result of Bonnie's spell. Stefan rushed into the basement and found Damon lying on the floor, weak and in agony.

"Damon! Come on, hurry!" Stefan shouted, picking Damon up with his vampire strength and rushing out of the basement at vampire speed.

Outside, Bonnie finished her spell to remove the fire and she looked at Elena, carefully.

"Bonnie… Bonnie, what is it? Are they gonna be okay?" Elena asked, worriedly. Then, she saw Stefan carrying an injured Damon out of the building, and she ran in their direction. "Oh, my God!"

* * *

><p>Stefan was just about to enter the Mystic Grill when Bonnie stepped outside.<p>

"Oh, hey." Stefan's eyes widened, wondering exactly how he was supposed to act around the young witch now that they found out about her deceit.

Bonnie pursed her lips. "Hey." She said, shortly.

"You… you're gonna miss Elena." Stefan murmured.

"I was looking for you actually." Bonnie explained.

Stefan's brow furrowed. "Oh."

"Elena is my best friend, and because she loves you, I couldn't let you or Damon die in that fire." Bonnie explained, coldly. "And if I'm gonna protect Elena, I'm gonna need all the help I can get."

"I'm very grateful Bonnie, I hope you know that." Stefan said, earnestly.

"I do... but I hope you know that things have to change. Damon has to change." Bonnie said, hardly.

"We both want the same thing." Stefan tried to explain.

"We both want to protect the people we care about. The difference is, for you, Damon is one of them. You saw what I was able to do tonight. I know who I am now, and if Damon spills so much as one drop of innocent blood, I'll take him down. Even if I have to take you with him." Bonnie said, coldly.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." Stefan sighed, knowing that there could be no reasoning with Bonnie now.

He could see into her eyes and see the rage and the hate. The power and the feeling of limitlessness. The feeling that she could conquer anything with just a flick of her wrist.

It was the feeling he had when he drank human blood.

He just hoped that Bonnie could come back from it.

"Let's hope it doesn't." Bonnie said, loftily, and pushed past him, on her way home.

She wouldn't let anything happen to the people she cared about. She had already failed Caroline when the young blonde girl had fallen into Damon's clutches. She would never let anything else happen to the people she loved.

Even if Mystic Falls had to rain with Salvatore blood to protect them.

* * *

><p>When Aliyah walked into her bedroom, slipped her heels off and dropped her camera somewhere on the table, she ignored everything in reach and decided to do nothing but collapse onto the bed and throw her hands over her eyes. She felt something crinkle underneath her and she frowned in confusion. Her hands reached underneath her body and pulled out a single sheet of paper, which had been folded in half.<p>

She tensed and knew at that moment that it couldn't have been Bonnie who had left her the note. No other vampire would have been able to enter without an invitation from the human owner of the apartment and she had secretly changed that owner to Bonnie a few days ago, not that she had confided this fact with the young witch. The renovations for the house in the woods would be finished tomorrow and she and Bonnie could move in and she would confess to Bonnie that she owned the house.

She opened the letter, trembling as dread settled in her stomach, and tears unwillingly came to her eyes.

_There is no place on this Earth that you can hide from me, Aliyah. Although, I was surprised to hear of your relocation to Mystic Falls of all places. Were you feeling homesick, hellcat?_

She could practically hear his taunting voice. _The bastard._

_You have always been able to run away from me in these last eighty-five years, my love, but you have never been able to hide from me for much too long. I am always watching you. But I have come to the conclusion that I have had enough of simply watching. Our paths will cross again, I can assure you that. I have grown weary of your absence and I desire my wife at my side once more. _

_I have no intention of letting you escape me for much longer. You have much to answer for all of the pain and suffering and loneliness and betrayal you have made me endure for decades, Liya._

_Always and forever,_

_Niklaus_

"Fuck." Aliyah hissed.

The tears slipped down her cheeks, wetting them, until she wiped them from her skin, harshly.

That was how Bonnie found her when she returned home, Aliyah on the couch, drinking from a bottle of scotch, a letter laid out on the coffee table in front of her, her eyes dark and fathomless and looking at nothing in particular. Immediately, fear struck at Bonnie and she rushed over to the older woman who had become so important to her in such a short time – friend and family in one.

"Aliyah, are you okay?" She asked, worriedly, placing a hesitant hand on her shoulder.

The touch was what Aliyah needed to snap out of her brooding and turn to Bonnie.

"Hm?" She raised an eyebrow.

"You okay?" Bonnie asked, slowly.

Aliyah shook her head, hopelessly. "No, Bonnie girl, I am most certainly not okay." She said, hoarsely.

"Who's the letter from?" Bonnie asked, curiously.

"My husband." Aliyah whispered. She jumped to her feet and grabbed the neck of the scotch bottle, hurling it at the wall with all of her strength, feeling something light up low in her stomach when it hit the wall and shattered into a mixture of glass and alcohol on the floor.

"He's found me." She hissed out between her gritted teeth.

"What do you mean 'he's found you'?" Bonnie asked, carefully, approaching her like one might approach a skittish animal.

Aliyah laughed, harshly. "Bonnie girl, my husband's been _hunting_ me for eighty-five _fucking_ years. And he's finally trapped me." She explained, reluctantly.

Bonnie swallowed hard, seeing the fear in her eyes and wondering exactly what her husband was like to make the strong woman in front of her be so terribly helpless at his hands.

"What do we do?" She asked, earnestly.

"Nothing." Aliyah shook her head, grimly. "Now, we're in trouble. And it's only just beginning."

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN**_: Hope you all liked the chapter. I definitely enjoyed writing this one. It was pretty hard and it took me a little over two days to write it. I hope you liked the look we got at present day Klaus. He's really angry at Aliyah for leaving him and he's not going to be so forgiving towards her, but she's not going to be begging for his forgiveness any time soon, so they'll just have to find another way to work it out.

I hope you also enjoyed the extra Caroliyah bonding in this chapter. Don't worry, Season 2 is where we see those two growing close, after Caroline turns into a vampire and I have a twist coming up for that.

And I've decided on my other pairings in this story. I don't think Aliyah will have another love interest before Klaus comes into the story because now he's always going to be at the back of her mind. She wouldn't dare begin anything with someone new with the fear that he may be coming to Mystic Falls.

And we have Tonnie. I find the pairing really interesting because they didn't have much of an interaction in TVD and I didn't really like that. Plus, I like the parallels to Aliyah and Klaus. The werewolf and the witch is repeating itself. Tyler even has a nickname for Bonnie. He calls her 'Bonnie Rabbit', isn't that adorable? Their relationship will develop in Season 2, I promise.

As for Caroline's romance, I do have a pairing worked out for here, but that won't be for a while. She will be with Matt for majority of Season 2, but they will break up sooner or later, because I do know who she's going to be with.

And Klaus knows where Aliyah is now. Uh, oh. I hope you liked the letter – I was going for both sweet and threatening at the same time and I hope I reached my goal.

Anyway, hope you all liked the chapter and don't forget to review!


	9. The Return

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Vampire Diaries in any shape or form. But I do own my OC._

_**A/N**__: Here's the first episode of Season 2. We see Katherine in this episode and her reaction to Aliyah in Mystic Falls. Some more Tonnie action and I wonder what will happen to Caroline in this chapter…_

_**Reviews**__:_

Guest: I can't answer that. Caroline will be with an Original, but I'm not going to reveal which one.

Skyeward MusicLover: Thank you so much! Aliyah's getting really worried that Klaus will come after her.

Guest: Yep, Klaus knows where she is. Well, I think Klaus probably knew Elena was in Mystic Falls earlier because I don't think Katherine would have kept her existence a secret for that long if it meant getting a pardon from him. And knowing Klaus, he's probably kept an eye on Aliyah for a very long time.

NicoleR85: Yep, Klaus and Aliyah definitely don't have a healthy relationship. They'll definitely put each other, or rather, Aliyah will put Klaus through a lot of crap.

BeaAdriana: Caroline's pairing is a very interesting one that I don't want to reveal all that quickly. I'm glad you like Bonnie and Tyler together, I thought they were a really interesting pairing to go with.

TetraGirl: I know, Bonnie almost never gets an OC of her own. I've seen Caroline's sister, Caroline's cousin, Elena's twin, Elena's little sister, Elena's older sister, Elena's cousin, a bunch of Salvatore sisters, a Salvatore descendent, Tyler's little sister, Matt's sister. Everyone except for Bonnie, so I thought I'd give her a relative. I was aiming to surprise people with Klaus in that last chapter. I love writing Bonliyah and Caroliyah in this story. They have the best scenes together. I'm glad you like her with Klaus. I know Tonnie is usually not a pairing people go with, but I don't ship Beremy or Bamon, so I thought Tonnie would be interesting to write for Season 2 onwards. Katherine will be in this chapter and I look forward to seeing everyone's reactions to Katherine and Aliyah's interaction.

Linda Ku: Oh, thank you so much! Tonnie will become a thing in this story. I'm trying to write one Nikliyah and one Tonnie moment at least in every chapter. I think Klaus is that obsessive that he hates the fact that she left him, but he's smart enough to keep an eye on her, until sh e starts screwing around with something big that he doesn't want her to get into. It's my theory that Klaus knew about Elena prior to mid Season 2. Katherine wouldn't have kept it from him if it meant getting a pardon and it's like she knew about Elena from Season 1 itself. I think Klaus would have been following Aliyah all these years, just to keep an eye on her cause that's how controlling he is. I also think that if Klaus found out about Elena and was asking around, he would find out about this Bennett witch, who happens to be best friends with the Petrova doppelgänger, with the strange new cousin who's come to town, because Klaus would know that Bonnie's descended from Aliyah. I don't think it would be to hard for him to put it together. So, yeah, it's a bit of both. He's spent eighty-five years tracking her, but he got his confirmation that she was in Mystic Falls when he found out about Bonnie and Elena's relationship, because he knows Aliyah would never turn her back on a Bennett witch who needed her. Yeah, Klaus would get pretty murder-y if he found out his wife was shacking up with someone else, but I've got a flashback coming up that may explain that a bit better.

NotMyNameAnyway: I'm so glad you're so eager!

tate4eva: I love Caroliyah together. We'll see a bit more in this chapter and hell of a lot more in the coming chapters. I'm really excited for Caroliyah. Klaus needed to show his face otherwise we would've gone so many episodes without seeing a present day Nikliyah moment. I'm glad you like Tonnie. I was a little nervous how people would take it. It's kind of a strange pairing, considering I could only find one screencap of them together and that was _Founder's Day_. Klaus has a lot planned for Aliyah. He'll be kind of warring between being happy at having her with him and being angry that she dared to leave him. So, it should be very interesting.

PracticallyCharmed: I'm glad you liked the Bonliyah in this story. They're pretty much the main characters. I do know who Paula Patton is and I agree she's very beautiful, but I actually have an actress in mind for her, she's an Indian actress named Asin Thottumkal and she's got that sweetness and the sexiness to her that I'd imagine Aliyah has. Bonnie, I think, needs a vampire in her life who won't screw her over so that she can get past her prejudices against them. Stefan and Damon have screwed her over plenty by the time Caroline was turned that Caroline got screwed over by Bonnie. And Bonnie just accepted Elena just like that and I found that really unfair that Caroline was sidelined. Bonnie made Elena a daylight ring just like that but Stefan had to beg Bonnie to make one for Caroline and that was really unfair. I mean, it wasn't Caroline's fault she was turned. But I think because Aliyah's in her life, Bonnie's outlook has changed a lot that she can accept Caroline when she gets turned into a vampire. Aliyah will definitely be giving the Salvatores and Elena grief over their treatment of Bonnie and Caroline. I can't believe they just completely ignored the fact that Damon raped Caroline in Season 1 and Elena even had the fucking nerve to taunt her about in Season 4. But I think Aliyah's good for Caroline and Bonnie in the way that she makes them stronger about themselves. Bonnie and Caroline have both been sidelined by Elena in different ways and I think Aliyah brings them to the forefront more. There are more parallels between Aliyah and Klaus and Bonnie and Tyler that will become apparent in the coming chapters. Aliyah's relationship with Katherine is an interesting one and it should come out in this chapter with their confrontation. I'm glad you like the Nikliyah flashbacks so far. The Katherine confrontation is in this chapter. The showdown between Bonnie and Klaus has my own little twist to it that should be very interesting. I'm so glad you like the story so far.

rocket-queen98: Thank you so much!

Guest: Thank you so much!

cherlot: In my opinion, I think Klaus knew about Elena ages before _The Last Dance_ because Katherine probably found out about Elena mid Season 1 and I don't think she would've hesitated telling Klaus if she wanted a pardon. Plus, Klaus is obsessive and furious enough to keep a track on exactly where Aliyah is in the world. He'll still be coming in _The Last Dance_ but Elijah will come before then and everyone loves TVD Elijah!

Guest: Thank you so much!

AshleyL: Thank you so much! I've seen too many Elena-oriented OCs that I thought this would be interesting to write. I'm so glad you like it.

Phoenixsbirdsofflame: Thank you so much!

suzii3499: Me too!

Guest: Well, I'm sorry, but until I get to _The Last Dance_, it was all about establishing Aliyah's relationship with Bonnie and Caroline and Elijah, really.

EisforElephant: Well, I'm glad I managed to convert you :) I'm not a huge fan of Elena and I find Bonnie too judgemental and misguided sometimes, so she's not always my favourite character, but I adore Caroline. She's my favourite. I have a little twist planned for Caroline in this chapter that hopefully, you'll enjoy!

randomlittleme: I can't wait for their reunion too! I've written bits and pieces of their reunion and I can't wait to put it together. I'm sorry, I don't really ship Bamon because I pretty much hate Damon as a character, and I'm not a huge fan of Beremy, so I thought Tonnie would be a good pairing for this point in the show. I'm glad you like the Caroliyah friendship in this story as well!

**Stormdancer**

**Chapter 9**

**The Return**

Aliyah had barely parked the car at the hospital, before Bonnie had already thrown the door open and had dashed inside, running through the halls until she found Matt, who was sitting all alone on one of the hard, plastic chairs, his face buried in his hands.

Bonnie rushed up to him. "How's Caroline?" She asked, hurriedly, feeling Aliyah walked up, slowly, behind them.

Matt shook his head. "She's not good, Bon." He said, wearily. He turned to Aliyah. "Hi, I'm not sure that we've been introduced. I'm Matt Donovan."

Aliyah smiled, faintly, the weariness of finding that letter making her sluggish and lethargic, tired beyond belief. "It's nice to meet you, Matt. I just hoped it would have been under better circumstances. I'm Aliyah, Bonnie's cousin."

Bonnie took in a sharp breath. "What happened?" She asked Matt, urgently.

"We were driving and Tyler-"

Bonnie's eyes widened and she feared that her legs may collapse on her if she heard just one more horrible piece of news that day. "Tyler?" She asked, sharply. "Is he okay?"

Her fear was momentous. She couldn't lose Tyler – her Stray, her childhood best friend. A part of her would leave with him if she were to lose Tyler. She suddenly felt the calming presence of Aliyah's hand on her shoulder. She looked to the side to see a reassuring expression plastered across Aliyah's beautiful features.

"He's fine." Matt said, reassuringly. Bonnie's fear was palpable. He was suddenly struck by how intense Tyler and Bonnie's relationship was. Even when they were younger. Even as a child, Tyler was constantly aware of Bonnie. It was a running joke among the football team that Tyler had a major crush on Bonnie. In fact, if Matt were to hazard a guess, Tyler was madly in love with the young girl. Of course, no one had ever pulled their punches in telling him that Bonnie was way out of his league.

"_Look, Lockwood, guys like you don't get girls like Bonnie Bennett. You can stick to trashy cheerleaders and easy freshman that are impressed by your whole town's-favourite-son routine, but Bonnie's not like that. She's better than that." Alex Summers, the offensive tackle, crowed._

"_So, what you're saying is that Bonnie's too good for me?" Tyler raised an eyebrow, pulling his shirt over his head, knowing deep in his heart that the proud son of a bitch was telling the truth. _

_Bonnie was too good for him. She was sweet and pretty and kind and everything good in the world and he was a screw-up. _

_Matt chuckled, feeling sort of bad for his friend. He knew exactly how hung up on Bonnie Bennett Tyler really was. "I think that's exactly what he's saying." He said, mournfully._

"_Look, Ty, all you can do now is pine for Bonnie from afar and just watch as she falls for some pretty boy college student when she gets out of this Podunk town." Another football player shrugged._

_Tyler's face darkened and his face transformed into a picture of rage, before he slammed the door to his locker shut with a loud bang. He snatched up his bag and stormed out of the locker room._

"_You dipshits have no idea what you're talking about." He scowled as he left._

Aliyah watched as Bonnie's face paled with fear. She remembered that exact face and feeling whenever Mikael would get too angry with Niklaus; the blood on his face after a particular violent confrontation would eat at her until she could be sure that she would soothe all of his injuries. She remembered what it was like to hold a human Niklaus in her arms, free from their burdens of being a witch or a werewolf or a vampire, just being a boy and a girl, madly in love with each other.

She would wrap her arms around his shoulders and pull him into her chest, allowing him to rest his aching head on her breasts. She would smooth back his hair and press a damp cloth to each of his wounds, soothing them by placing a small kiss on each of the cuts. She remembered how she had revelled in the thought of Niklaus only letting himself be weak in _her_ arms and around no one else.

She looked at Bonnie and remembered how the young witch had vehemently denied any possible romantic inclinations towards Tyler Lockwood. On any other circumstance, Aliyah would be wary of an untriggered werewolf making a move on her lovely great niece, but the similarities between Tyler and Bonnie and herself and Niklaus had stunned her into remaining silent, preferring to see what would happen between the two young children.

Bonnie, on the other hand, couldn't help the niggling feeling in her gut to make sure that Tyler was fine and healthy. They had heard on the radio on their way to the hospital that Mayor Lockwood had died in the fire and she wanted to make sure that her guy was all right. Tyler had always been there for her and now it was her turn to be there for him.

_Bonnie wrapped her wool cardigan around her, tightly, stepping out onto the porch of her grandmother's house. Tyler stood on the steps, the collar of his jacket popped up in that ridiculously endearing way that Bonnie absolutely adored. She took a few steps forward until she was standing right in front of him._

"_Ready to go, Bonnie Rabbit?" Tyler asked, quietly._

_Bonnie nodded, a beaming smile on her face_. _"Let's go, sugar." She said, reassuringly._

_Matt and Elena had invited all of their friends to the movies and Tyler had offered to swing by Bonnie's Grams' place to pick her up on his way to the cinema._

"_Don't forget I know where you live, Tyler Lockwood." Sheila's voice came from the swing on the porch._

_Tyler nodded, emphatically, admiring the ability of Sheila Bennett to put the fear of God in him. "Yes, ma'am." He said, respectfully._

"_And you make sure that my grandbaby gets home safe." Sheila said, warningly._

_Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Grams-" She protested._

_Tyler's hand in hers was like a brand across her soul. "I'll protect her with my life." He said, sincerely._

"Well, Tyler… he heard this noise and he got…"

Bonnie swallowed hard, the guilt eating away at her. "A noise?" She asked, weakly, her hand falling to Aliyah's warm hand on her shoulder, clutching onto it for dear life. She felt Aliyah step closer to her and revelled in the comforting presence of Aliyah right behind her.

The noise that had caused Tyler to swerve had been _her fault_. She had been the one to choose not to deactivate the Gilbert device and now, bubbly, kind, sweet Caroline was in the hospital. And Tyler: sweet, loyal and devoted Tyler, his father was dead because of her and he may be injured as well. _All because of her_. Aliyah's arm came around her shoulders and Bonnie leaned into the embrace, breathing in the scent of rose and jasmine and sandalwood oil that seemed to be unique to the vampire and letting the fragrance swallow her whole before the guilt could.

Matt nodded. "He got this migraine or something and he lost control of the car and… I thought Caroline was fine and then… and then she wasn't so…" He swallowed hard, clearly gulping down the tears at the thought of Caroline's precarious survival.

Aliyah shifted next to Bonnie, hearing Damon come to talk to Liz Forbes about Caroline's situation. Inwardly, she seethed, wondering if the Sheriff would be willing to be such good friends with the monster that had raped and used her only daughter as his personal blood whore for weeks. What kind of monster hurt a young girl in that manner and then had the nerve to become friends with the girl's mother?

"_Liz, I came as soon as I get the message. Is she okay?_" Aliyah heard Damon ask Liz with concern.

Liz shook her head. "_She's in surgery, it's… they're doing everything they can. I need your help, Damon_."

Aliyah rolled her eyes. _Of course, she does._

"_Sure, anything, Liz_."

"_Mayor Lockwood is dead. They thought he was a vampire. They put him in the basement_."

Aliyah frowned. _So, the device must have affected every single supernatural creature in the radius, not merely vampires but both triggered and untriggered werewolves. Tyler and his father were affected by the noise, so that would be definitive as to the question of whether Tyler has the gene or not._

"_Mayor Lockwood is a vampire?_" Damon frowned.

Aliyah smirked. _Clearly, the young vampire has never come across a werewolf before._

"_No, no. A mistake was made, they said he dropped like the others when John's device when off but he… he couldn't have been a vampire, I've known him my whole life and I know Carol Lockwood's gonna want answers and all I can think of right now is Caroline and…_" Aliyah could hear Liz Forbes start to cry and could feel the sympathy well up inside of her.

It was a terrible thing to watch your children get hurt. She had felt that same pain every time she had watched Rebekah and Kol be daggered by Niklaus.

"_It's okay_." Damon said, reassuringly, and wrapped his arms around the Sheriff.

* * *

><p>"Bonnie!"<p>

At the sound of her name, Bonnie turned around, her dark hair whipping through the air, as she turned to face the girl who was running up to her Aliyah. Bonnie straightened, pushing herself off the wall, and Aliyah wrapped a hand around hers.

"How's Caroline?" Elena asked, hurriedly.

Bonnie swallowed hard, feeling a little jittery around Elena knowing that it was _her_ fault that so much had happened. Maybe she should have deactivated the device. "She's-" The words seemed to get stuck in her throat as she attempted to voice them. "She's weak. They don't know if she's going to make it." She said, hoarsely.

Elena looked horrified. "What?" She whispered in disbelief, tears gathering in her eyes.

Bonnie pursed her lips and wrapped her arms, slowly, around Elena in an awkward hug. She had still not been able to let go of her anger against the Salvatores and Elena, even while her best friend was on her deathbed. She wondered what that said about her.

Elena looked frantic as she pulled away from the hug. "Is there something that we can do? Like a spell or something?" She asked, quickly, her eyes wild and teary.

"She doesn't know how, do you?" A dark voice purred, mockingly, as Damon approached them, signature smirk plastered across his face.

Aliyah growled low in her throat, her patience shot to hell. "One more word, Salvatore, I dare you." She crooned, her nails digging into her palm as she imagined sinking her hands into skin, flesh and bone and pulling out his heart with one hard _yank_.

Bonnie gritted her teeth. "No, I don't." She scowled, agreeing with him reluctantly, the crushing guilt returning at her tenfold.

Damon smirked. "No, you don't, because it took Emily _years_ to learn a spell like that." He said, knowingly.

Bonnie's blood boiled. He dared to mock her and her abilities as a witch. Her teeth clenched and she smiled a smile that promised blood and pain.

"Now, I can take down a vampire, that spell was easy to learn." Bonnie purred, lowly, her green eyes flashing, practically glowing when she saw Aliyah's approving look.

"I can give Caroline some blood." Damon turned to Elena, his eyes earnest.

Elena shook her head, the whole idea setting her teeth on edge. "No, no way."

Damon shook his head. "No, just enough to heal her, she will be safe in the hospital and it will be out of her system in a day." He leaned in. "She will be better, Elena."

"It's too risky, I can't agree to that." Elena protested.

"Then, let me give her my blood." Aliyah said, suddenly, sliding smoothly to her feet. She turned to Bonnie. "I'm older. My blood will heal her quicker and it will be out of her system much quicker." She said, slowly.

"No way." Elena hissed, her eyes flashing in distrust.

"Elena, frankly, I don't care what you think." Aliyah snarled. She leaned in, the veins under her eyes appearing momentarily. "You should show me some respect," She growled through clenched teeth. "I don't offer my blood to just anyone. I happen to like Caroline a great deal, and the worst thing for her is to have a serial rapist's blood in her." She shot a withering glare at both Elena and Damon, who had the grace to look shamefaced at what she was implying.

"Do it." Bonnie nodded, trusting Aliyah infinitely more than Damon. If Aliyah promised her this, then it would be true. Aliyah didn't break her world. Elena opened her mouth to protest but Bonnie shut her down with one cold look. "This is Caroline. We can't let her die." She turned back to Aliyah. "Do it." She said, earnestly.

Aliyah nodded and touched her shoulder. "Come with me, darling." She said, sweetly, resisting the urge to return a triumphant yet childish smile at Elena, who simply glared at the way Bonnie stepped into Aliyah's side as if that were where she belonged.

Aliyah wrapped her arm around Bonnie's shoulders, leading her down the corridor until they came to Caroline's room, and made a point to keep one ear on Damon and Elena's conversation.

"_I know this is probably the last thing you want to do right now but we should talk about what happened tonight._" Damon said, casually.

"_Yeah, one of the tomb vampires got into my house and almost killed John._" Elena shook her head, despondently.

Damon frowned in confusion. "_What? When? What are you talking about? After I left?_"

Elena raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "_You were there?_" She asked, incredulously.

Damon rolled his eyes. "_Come on, Elena, you know I was._" He said, pointedly, smirking to himself.

Elena's brow furrowed. "_When were you at the house?_" She asked, confused.

Damon smirked. "_Really? Earlier, on the porch, we were talking, exposed our feelings, come on, we kissed, Elena!_" He spat out.

Elena grinned, thinking he was joking. "_Okay, I don't have time for this, Damon._"

Damon shook his head. "_If you want to forget what happened, fine, but I can't._"

Aliyah started laughing, wrapping an arm around her waist as she shook from the giggles. Bonnie simply stared at her in confusion and amusement, wondering what it was out of the blue that had made Aliyah double over in laughter. Aliyah heard Jenna arrive and Damon walk away from them slowly, he too listening in on their conversation.

"_Elena, I came as soon as I got your message. How is John?_" Jenna asked, worriedly, brushing her hair away from her face.

"_Where have you been?_" Elena asked, annoyed, crossing her arms over her chest.

Jenna raised an eyebrow. "_At the fire department, I deferred a report. I told you earlier._"

Elena shook her head. "_No, you didn't._"

Jenna nodded. "_Yes, I did._"

Elena scowled. "_No, Jenna, you didn't._"

"_Yes, I did._" Jenna said, sharply, becoming impatient.

Aliyah's smile grew as Damon came to the same conclusion as she had.

"_Oh, you got to be kidding me._" Damon muttered in disbelief.

Aliyah couldn't help but start laughing all over again.

"You mind telling me what's so funny?" Bonnie raised an eyebrow, her lips twitching.

"Katherine's in Mystic Falls." Aliyah said, gleefully. "Everything just got infinitely more interesting."

"Interesting?" Bonnie's eyes widened in disbelief. "Katherine is not interesting. She's a she-bitch. Who knows what she'll do?"

Aliyah smiled, gently, at Bonnie and pulled them into an empty corridor. "You don't have to worry, Bonnie girl." Bonnie watched as Aliyah's eyes turned completely cold and vicious. "I give you my word that Katerina will not harm you. She will not get close enough to do so before I rip her pretty little head off her shoulders." She swore.

Bonnie nodded, weakly. "So, tell me, what happened?"

"Well, apparently, Katerina got herself invited into Elena's house and she cut off a few of John's fingers and stabbed him. Then, she kissed Damon, pretending to be Elena and you can imagine how that messed with his head." She shook her head. "She's still playing all of her usual games."

"Why do you call her that?" Bonnie asked, curiously. "Katerina, I mean?"

Aliyah hitched in a sharp breath. "Well, I knew Katherine when she was human. Before she was Katherine Pierce, she was Katerina Petrova. She was this sweet-faced young girl who was invited to my house for my husband's birthday." She explained. She paused. "She's changed a lot since then. I suppose a lot of that is my husband's fault." She mused.

Aliyah turned to look at Bonnie, her eyes more serious and unforgiving than she had ever seen them before. "Bonnie, there are many things I haven't told you and now is probably the best time for me to do so. Once we are done here at the hospital, we'll go over to the house in the woods and we need to have a serious talk about a few things."

Bonnie's hackles immediately rose and she placed a tentative yet gentle hand on Aliyah's arm. "Lee-Lee, is this because of the letter you got from your husband?" She asked, worriedly.

Aliyah swallowed hard. "Bonnie, my husband poses a threat to many people in this town and I will try my best to stop him, but before I can do that, you need to know exactly what we're dealing with. I have kept a few things about myself from you, but only to protect you. I swear I will explain everything in a better place and with more privacy." She said, earnestly.

"Okay." Bonnie nodded. "Let's go and see Caroline."

They stopped outside Caroline's room and saw that they were no longer operating on her. The doctors had instead chosen to leave her in one of the rooms in the recovery ward after bringing her down from the theatre.

"Stay outside and keep watch." Aliyah said to Bonnie, warningly. "I won't take too long."

Aliyah swooped into Caroline's room and observed the set-up. The young blonde girl had been attached to multiple IV and blood bags and Aliyah could hear the tell-tale drip-drip of the blood entering her system through the needle in the veins on the front of her hand. She weighed between pouring some of her blood into the blood bag that Caroline was currently connected to, but she guessed that some sort of alarm would ring if she were to disturb the precarious set-up. Then, she ultimately decided on feeding Caroline her blood directly into her mouth. She walked up to the bed and observed the girl's pale and gaunt face.

_Poor Caroline. You weren't meant to walk into this, but I suppose that ship has long since passed. _

Aliyah, with one hand, gently pried her mouth open, Caroline's lips parting from the force on her jaw. She held her wrist up to her mouth and waited for her fangs to emerge. She sank her fangs into her wrist, ignoring the sound of sliced skin and flesh until she tapped into her veins, feeling her own blood pool into her mouth. She pulled her wrist from her teeth, licking away the blood that had made its way onto her lips, and held her bleeding wrist against Caroline's open mouth, making sure that the girl swallowed enough of her blood to heal her injuries before Aliyah pulled away, her wound healing almost immediately. She grabbed a tissue from the box on the table and wiped the blood that had stained Caroline's face, making sure there was no sign that a vampire had fed Caroline their blood, before she rushed out of the room.

Aliyah greeted Bonnie with a grim smile.

"Is it done?" Bonnie asked, shooting the closed door of Caroline's hospital room a wary glance.

"She'll be fine in a few hours, and then the blood will make its way out of her system, I promise." Aliyah said, reassuringly.

Bonnie smiled, gratefully. "Thanks, Lee-Lee." She wrapped her arms around Aliyah's thin framed and Aliyah patted her on the back, affectionately. "Did you wanna go home now? The memorial for Mayor Lockwood is tomorrow afternoon. I have to be there for Tyler."

Aliyah's eyes widened. She dug into the pocket of her maroon, patterned dress and pulled out her car keys. "Actually, why don't you take my car and go back to the apartment. The removalists should be coming tomorrow, so you might want to start packing up whatever stuff you've got lying around."

"Removalists?" Bonnie frowned.

"The house is finished with renovations, Bonnie girl. We can move in tomorrow. You know, after the memorial." Aliyah explained.

"So, where are you going to be?" Bonnie tossed the car keys up and down in her palm.

"Well, John Gilbert's admitted here in the hospital and I thought I'd go and have a chat with him." Aliyah smiled, innocently.

But Bonnie didn't buy it. She levelled the older woman with a warning glare. "What are you going to do?" She asked, carefully.

Aliyah's eyes widened, innocently. "Nothing." She said, sweetly. Bonnie's glare darkened. She sighed. "Okay, fine, I was just going to see what he knows about Katherine and to threaten him a little bit. Then, I thought I'd go and see how Elena's coping with the fact that her evil twin's back in town." She shrugged.

Bonnie raised an eyebrow. "That's… almost caring." She said, stunned, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oi! I can be caring if I want to be." Aliyah exclaimed, mock offended. Bonnie raised an eyebrow. "Okay, fine, I was going to make fun of the fact that history seems to be repeating itself with the Salvatore brothers and a Petrova doppelganger." She said, reluctantly. "Why is it that I'm the older one and you're determined to keep me on track?"

Bonnie smirked. "Because you need someone to keep you on track." She said, with more affection in her voice than seriousness.

"You okay to get home on your own?" Aliyah asked, worriedly. "Call me if something happens. I know Katherine's in town, don't engage her, just get the hell out of there." She said, warningly.

"I can take-" Bonnie protested.

Aliyah placed a hand on Bonnie's shoulder. "I'm sure you can." She said, gently. "But it would make me feel better to know that you weren't trying to bait a centuries old manipulative little bitch who has absolutely no qualms about tearing your throat out. Although, if she finds out that you're under my protection, she may think twice about doing so." She mused.

Bonnie smiled, gently, heartened by the warm affection Aliyah's words. "I'll be fine, Aliyah. Let me know what happens." She said, sincerely.

"Will do, darling." Aliyah winked at her and walked down the hallway, away from Bonnie, until she reached the reception, quickly compelling the whereabouts of John Gilbert.

* * *

><p>"So, John, looks like someone's cheesed off with you." Aliyah said, mock sympathetically, as she walked into John's room and shut the door behind her, locking it. "But, to be fair, I assume you make someone angry on a day-to-day basis, so this was just inevitable." She shrugged.<p>

John shifted in his bed, grunting when the movement placed pressure on his still sore stab wound.

"I'm surprised that you're not sucking me dry." He hissed.

Aliyah hummed, chewing on her lip. "Interesting idea. I mean, you've lost enough blood so that the vervain is completely out of your system. And it has been awhile since I've had blood directly from the vein. Decisions, decisions." She mused. "But to be honest, I don't find you all that appealing, darling." She said, mockingly, patting him on the hand that had four fingers missing.

Aliyah raised an eyebrow, a smile forming on her lips. "I assume you know about your old mate being back in town?" She asked, innocently, her eyes flashing, wickedly. "Of course you do, after all, she's the one that did this to you, didn't she? It must suck to know that Katerina attacked you wearing your daughter's face. She's not very good to her friends, is she?" She pouted, gesturing to his many injuries.

"What do you want?" John asked through clenched teeth.

"Where is she, John?" Aliyah asked, coldly, her face transforming from a sweet smile to a tight-lipped mouth.

"I don't know." John growled, trying to sit up.

Aliyah sighed and placed one hand on his shoulder, pushing him down with a single jerk of her wrist.

"Don't be a dimwit, John." She purred. "You're a little too weak to be playing the macho act. Now, be a good boy and answer my questions or I'll just compel you." She shrugged.

"I don't know." John snarled out of fear and hatred. "She never spoke to be directly, she doesn't trust me that much."

Aliyah clucked her tongue and searched his eyes for any possible clue that he was lying to her. She, once more in a thousand years, thanked whatever higher being there might be for allowing her to keep her intuition once she had turned. Even as a human, she had been an impeccable lie detector and her instincts had only grown since she was turned into a vampire. From his eyes and heartbeat, Aliyah couldn't tell that John was lying to her.

"Very well, John, I'll believe you for now." Aliyah said, sweetly. She stood up. "I do hope you know that Katerina plans on sacrificing Elena up like a lamb for the slaughter to my husband." She said, pointedly. "Do what you will with that information." She said, loftily, before striding out of the room.

* * *

><p>Aliyah reached the Gilbert house just at the moment when Elena and Damon were walking up the steps.<p>

"Good to see you both." Aliyah said, cheerfully.

Elena frowned in suspicion. "What are _you_ doing here?" She spat.

Aliyah raised an eyebrow. She repeated to herself again and again that the doppelganger had to be protected, words that prevented her from simply tearing out Elena's throat for her disrespect. She inhaled and exhaled.

"Why don't you dial down the attitude before I snap your neck, Bambi?" She said, quietly yet dangerously, advancing slightly on the suddenly terrified human. Elena took an unwilling step back and Damon took a step to the side, intent on protecting her. "I'm here because we all have a common enemy that has found her way into Mystic Falls and I want Katerina _gone_." She said, simply.

Elena gritted her teeth at the vitriol that sprung up when Aliyah threatened her, a healthy dose of fear keeping her silent. Sometimes, like with Stefan, it was hard to remember that Aliyah was a vampire, and centuries older than Stefan and Damon, as the woman had never killed in her presence. She had seen Damon exact a number of atrocities that she still kept in the back of her mind that Damon was bad news. It wouldn't do well for her to underestimate Aliyah. From what she had seen, Aliyah only cared about Bonnie and she would do anything to protect her best friend.

"Stefan?" Elena asked, as she, Damon and Aliyah crossed the threshold of the Gilbert house, seeing her boyfriend lying on the ground, amidst a number of broken furniture.

Stefan swallowed hard, seeing his girlfriend enter in through the door. "Elena." He murmured.

"What happened?" Elena asked, surveying the broken furniture with dismay.

A dangerous, knowing smile came to Aliyah's lips and she bared her teeth. Before either Stefan or Damon could answer her, she sung, sweetly, the words that made Elena's, Stefan's and Damon's blood run absolutely icy.

"She's back." She crooned.

All three glared at her.

"What, a little too Michael Myers?" She asked, innocently.

* * *

><p>Aliyah hopped up onto the island counter in the Gilbert kitchen, while Elena was upstairs explaining what had happened to Jeremy. Elena had explained to her that her brother had drunk a vial of his vampire girlfriend's blood and downed a bottle of pills, attempting to commit suicide and come back as a vampire. Aliyah shook her head, unable to believe the absolute gall of these Gilberts. First John, Elena and now, Jeremy. They would die sooner or later if they kept getting swept up into vampire world.<p>

"Did she say what she wanted?" Damon asked.

"No."

"Did you ask?" Aliyah asked, lightly.

"No."

"Bloody hell." Aliyah snarled, crossing her legs. "Tell me something, Salvatores, when you come face to face with an enemy, what the hell do you do? Simply stare at them the entire time?" She asked, incredulously, shaking her head.

Damon shook his head. "Woman certainly knows how to make an entrance." He muttered, thoughtfully.

Stefan frowned. "She said she fooled one of us at least. What does that mean?" He asked, questioningly, watching as a blinding smile appeared on Aliyah's face.

Damon shrugged. "She pretended to be Elena too when I showed up earlier tonight." He said, noncommittally.

Elena walked into the kitchen. "I told Jeremy, I can't lie to him anymore."

Stefan walked up to her, touching her arm, affectionately. "Are you alright?" He asked, concerned.

Aliyah grimaced, knowing that the one question would cause Elena Gilbert to go into one of her whining, 'woe is me' fits.

Elena shook her head. "No, I'm not alright. I thought that with all the tomb vampires gone, things were getting better." She whispered.

"I know, we all did." Stefan said, soothingly.

"Not me." Aliyah interjected. All of them turned to glare at her. "Are you kidding me? The whole Isobel drama was completely separate from the tomb vampire drama. You didn't think that Katherine would just leave you alone once she found out both of her exes were shacking up with her doppelganger, did you?" She raised an eyebrow.

Elena chose to ignore her. "Katherine was in this house, that means she's been invited in, what are we gonna do?" She looked at Damon and Stefan.

"You should move." Aliyah said.

Elena rolled her eyes. "Very helpful, thank you." She said, sarcastically.

"Somehow I feel as though you will die, painfully and very bloodily, by some vampire because you have a death wish and you run your mouth as if I were just some freshman at your high school. How many times do I have to drill it into you that I am not these two morons before you finally make me snap and I gut you like a pig." Aliyah growled and Elena's eyes widened, swallowing hard in fear, suddenly feeling dizzy and her legs tightening, as if she were ready to run – all because of the violent promise in Aliyah's words. "If Katerina wanted you dead, you would be dead already. If anything, Katerina is a master at getting what she wants." _Except for one thing._ "So, seeing as you aren't dead, it's clear that Katerina has other plans for you. You should move."

"Right, and we need to find out what those other plans are and not provoke her in the process." Stefan said, quickly, drawing Aliyah's attention away from Elena and to himself. He turned to Damon. "What happened tonight when you thought she was Elena?" He asked, tensing.

Damon sighed, somehow knowing that his brother wouldn't take well to the idea of him kissing his girlfriend. "To risk another front line encroaching on your very crowded forehead," He hesitated. "We… kissed." He said, finally.

Elena raised an eyebrow. "And you thought it was me?" She asked, scandalised, wondering if everyone thought that she would become Katherine 2.0.

"What do you mean you kissed?" Stefan growled, his eyes flashing.

Damon smirked, not being able to resist the urge to tease his brother. "You know, when two lips pucker and then-" He mimed kissing the air.

Stefan rushed at him with his vampire speed, but before he could lay a hand on his brother, Damon stood where he had just seconds before.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Don't be obvious, Stefan." He said, mockingly.

Stefan made to advance on him yet again, but Elena thankfully placed herself right in the middle.

"Stefan, wait, he kissed Katherine, not me." Elena said, reassuringly. She turned to Damon. "I wouldn't do that." She said, warningly. "We don't have time for this, guys."

Stefan's eyes turned hard when they fell upon Damon. "Later." He vowed, promising violence.

Elena licked her suddenly dry lips. "John must know something. There has to be a reason why Katherine tried to kill him." She said, pointedly.

"I already talked to your birth father, darling. He knows nothing, but your welcome to try your brand of interrogation, if you'd like." Aliyah shrugged. "Katherine loves to play games and she almost always wins them. You're deluding yourself if you think _you of all people _will find out what she's up to before she wants you to know."

Stefan shook his head. "No, actually, Elena's right, John could know something through Isobel. You mother, she was in touch with Katherine, so maybe we can go to the hospital and talk." He said, reassuringly.

Aliyah rolled her eyes. Her phone buzzed and she looked down at the screen.

Bonnie: _I'm leaving the hospital. They said they'll let people see Caroline now._

Aliyah: _Fine, I'll meet you back at the apartment. Did you go home at all?_

Bonnie: _No, I decided to stick around until they let Caroline out of recovery. But I don't think that's happening anytime soon._

Aliyah: _I'm done here, anyway. See you soon._

Aliyah clapped her hands. "Well, this has been an enlightening day, so I'm gonna be off. Stefan, I'm sure you'll get nowhere with John. Damon, I'm sure you'll do something to piss Katherine off and that'll draw her out anyway. And Elena, don't do something to piss your evil twin off. I've heard that she has a real jealous side." She said, innocently, and whooshed away back to the hospital.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Aliyah and Bonnie walked up to a weary-looking Matt, who had collapsed in one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs opposite to Caroline's room.<p>

"You've been here all night?" Bonnie asked, worriedly, wrapping her cardigan around her, tightly.

Matt nodded, the dark circles under his eyes showing. "Yeah, with the Sheriff.

Bonnie pursed her lips. "No one else?" She wondered out loud.

Matt shook his head. "It's just been me and the Sheriff."

Bonnie took a seat next to Matt, placing a gentle hand on his. Aliyah smoothed down Bonnie's hair, comfortingly.

"How is Caroline today?" Aliyah asked, curiously. The amount of blood she had given Caroline should work its way out of her system by the end of the day.

Matt shrugged, a small smile working its way onto his face. "See for yourself."

Matt, Bonnie and Aliyah walked into Caroline's room to see her sitting up in her bed, flicking through the channels of the television on her remote. She turned to look at her visitors with a sweet, mega watt smile on her face. Aliyah watched as tears unwillingly came to Bonnie's green eyes upon seeing Caroline's face and admired the bond that existed between the two girls, one witch and one completely mortal and oblivious, yet the best of friends.

"Jersey Shore's on." Caroline grinned.

Bonnie swallowed hard, feeling the tears slip down her cheeks, and she rushed forwards, throwing her arms around Caroline, burying her face in the blonde's shoulder. She shook when she realised just how close she had come to losing the only best friend she had at the moment who was completely oblivious to witch and vampire business, and who hadn't turned her back on Bonnie in favour of two vampires who had done nothing but cause pain for her.

Caroline winced as Bonnie's arms tightened around a particularly sore part of her. "Careful, still a little sore." She said, weakly, smiling.

Bonnie pulled away, immediately. "Sorry." She said, rubbing the back of her neck, sheepishly.

"It's okay. They say I'm healing very quick." Caroline said, reassuringly. She turned to Aliyah. "Hi." She said, shyly, remembering the sweet young woman who had helped her get dressed for Founder's Day.

"Hello, darling, it's good to see you up and ready to face the world." Aliyah said, softly, leaning down and wrapping her arms, gently, around the blonde.

"Thank you." Caroline said, sweetly, returning the hug as best as she could.

Matt stepped forward. "My turn." He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, gratefully, and Bonnie started weeping, madly.

Caroline frowned in fond confusion when she saw Bonnie crying. "Why are you crying?" She asked, worriedly.

Bonnie shook her head and wiped the tears away from her cheeks, the events of the last few days finally taking its toll on her. "I'm just happy you're okay." She said, hoarsely.

Caroline cracked a smile. "I love you guys." She said, earnestly.

Bonnie smiled a watery smile. "And we love you." She said, gently.

Bonnie, Matt and Caroline wrapped their arms around each other.

* * *

><p>Aliyah pulled up beside the Lockwood Mansion after Bonnie and her had gone home to the apartment to change. Aliyah now wore a slim-fitting, long-sleeved black dress with a Peter Pan collar and lace accenting her collarbone and arms, and white metallic pumps. Bonnie wore a black halter-neck dress with a beaded necklace, coupled with black flats and a mauve sweater. Bonnie motioned for Aliyah to go ahead and that she would need a minute before going in herself.<p>

"Hi, Tyler." Aliyah smiled, sadly, at the young boy.

"Hey, Aliyah." Tyler's smile was tight. "Thanks for coming."

Aliyah smirked. "I bet you've been saying that all morning." She said, knowingly.

Tyler sighed. "Yeah, I have. It's a bit-"

"Boring, annoying." Aliyah shrugged. "I wouldn't worry too much. In a couple of hours you can go and get drunk of your arse."

Tyler's eyes widened. This was Bonnie's new pseudo guardian and he had seen the way that Bonnie acted around her cousin. She loved the woman absolutely. It wouldn't do well for her to think of Tyler as some drunken frat boy only after one thing from Bonnie.

"What? I would never-" Tyler stammered.

Aliyah grinned. "Come on, darling. You're a teenage boy. Your father just died and even though, according to Bonnie, he was a wanker-" Her eyes widened and she bit her lip. "Bloody hell." She hissed. "I wasn't supposed to say that." She looked at him, sternly. "You didn't hear me say that."

Tyler didn't take much offence to what she had just said and chuckled, quietly, making sure none of the unsuspecting townspeople had heard Aliyah's comment.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but that's the best thing I've heard all day." Tyler grinned.

Aliyah shrugged. "No one said that fathers had to be perfect. Mine swanned off when I was a kid. Never saw him again."

"Is Bonnie here?" Tyler asked, eagerly, looking around.

Aliyah laughed. "Easy there, darling. She's coming up as we speak." She patted Tyler on the shoulder. "I'm gonna head inside." She walked past Tyler. "Oh, and darling," Tyler turned back to look at her. "Try not to start a fight at this party."

Bonnie chewed on her lip when she saw Tyler standing on the porch, greeting the townspeople who had come to pay their respects to man that Tyler had hated with his very being.

Tyler turned after shaking another person's hand, feeling the air shift around him, and his eyes immediately sought out Bonnie's approaching form, her eyes glinting in the sunlight. He swallowed hard, his hands searching hers immediately. Bonnie took then, gratefully, and stepped into his warm embrace, wrapping her lithe arms around Tyler's taller frame. He bent down to bury his face in the crook of her neck, breathing in the smell of honey and lavender that seemed to come from her sweet skin, his hands, gently, rubbing circles along the witch's back. His lips brushed across her temple and he mumbled something only she could hear.

She pulled back, her hands sliding up from Tyler's neck to cup his face in her smooth fingers. She leaned up, so that he was flush against her body, a lover's embrace, although the two didn't give a second thought to that comparison. They were who they were. They were Tyler and Bonnie, they didn't need any more labels.

She pressed her lips to the edge of his ear and trailed a line of soft kisses across his cheek until she reached the corner of his mouth, wetting her lips with her tongue and looking him in the eye before she pressed her lips to his in a sweet kiss. Tyler leaned down and rested his forehead against hers. She looked at him, questioningly.

"I'm fine, Bonnie Rabbit." Tyler moved her dark curls off her shoulder, twisting his fingers in a few strands. "I'll be fine. Thank you… for being here."

Bonnie nodded, knowing exactly how much Tyler had hated his father. This was a bittersweet occasion for him. He had yet to resolve his hatred for his father with the grief that overwhelmed him at the thought of his father's wife. She wrapped her arms around him and drew him back into her embrace.

Aliyah watched Tyler and Bonnie in each other's embrace. She cocked her head and a smile grew on her face. They reminded her so much of herself and Niklaus that it almost stunned her to see them interact in front of her.

"_I do not understand why you must antagonise him." Aliyah shook her head, pressing the cloth against the wound in his shoulder._

_Niklaus grunted from the stabbing pain in his shoulder and he shifted, falling firmly into her arms. "I thought that if I could best him in a duel, I could show him that I was not a weakling."_

"_My love, you are not a weakling." Aliyah leaned down and cupped his face in her warm hands, her thumbs stroking, reverently, across his cheekbones. "You could never be a weakling in my eyes. You are a strong man and if Mikael chooses to ignore this, then it is his burden to bear and not yours." She said, earnestly._

_Niklaus rested his chin on her stomach and looked up at her, gazing at her as if he could see the sun and the moon and the stars in her dark eyes. This beautiful woman above him loved him and only him, beyond measure and weight. She laid in his arms and she wanted to be his wife. It was enough to erase away the harsh words and painful hits that Mikael had delivered upon him. Aliyah leaned down and pressed her hand against his wound, biting her lip when she heard him wince in pain. She mumbled words under her breath, feeling the warmth from her fingers seep into his skin, her magic healing his wound. She hitched in a sharp breath and dizziness overcame her as she sank into his warm embrace, her limbs losing feeling._

"_Liya?" Niklaus called out, worriedly, smoothing back her hair from her weary face. At once, he knew that she had used her magic and her strength to make him feel better. "Oh, my little witch, why would you do something like this for me?"_

"_Because I cannot bear to see you in pain." Aliyah said, tiredly, nuzzling into his chest. She looked up at him, and her fingers stroked against his damp cheek. "Do you ever wish that we could live forever?" She asked, innocently. "That way, our love would exist all through time."_

_Niklaus shifted and brought her into his arms, tightly. He leaned down and pressed his lips slowly against hers, feeling her whimper against him._

"_Our love will exist all through time, hellcat. I have no intention of letting you go, be it in life or in death." He vowed._

Aliyah pursed her lips, feeling her own age start to show. She had no idea what to do about Niklaus' letter nor did she know how to best explain her story to Bonnie, which she would have to do sooner rather than later. It wouldn't do well for Katherine being in Mystic Falls or Niklaus about to come into town and Bonnie to remain clueless. All she could do was hope that Bonnie would begin to accept the true Aliyah Mikaelson the way she had when she had first met her.

If she were being honest, the idea of Niklaus coming to Mystic Falls terrified her beyond belief. Not simply because he would find out about the doppelganger's existence, but because Niklaus was inherently unpredictable in his rage. She wouldn't be able to guess whether he would simply dagger her for her departure or whether he would choose a more creative punishment by simply killing the ones she had grown to care for in this town. Niklaus had the tendency to hit her where it hurt and she was sure Bonnie would be at the centre of it.

She was also nervous about seeing her husband after so long. It had been more than thirty years since she had seen him face to face, and that last meeting had ended as quick as it began. Since she had left him permanently in 1925, she had only ever seen him twice, both times choosing to spend in his presence no longer than a few minutes at the most, preferring instead to leave just as he came, leaving remnants of her mocking laughter and the scent of rose and jasmine and sandalwood oil – her perfume since the 12th century – in the air for him to rage over.

She didn't even know how she would react upon seeing Niklaus again in the flesh. She knew she would tremble when faced with him. She would stare at his blue eyes and wonder how did she become strong enough to walk away from her. He would say something biting and hurtful, because that was what Niklaus Mikaelson did when someone caused him to hurt, he caused them pain in return. She would bite her lip and feel the tears come to her eyes at his harsh words, and turn her face away from him. His eyes would widen as he realised that he had hurt her feelings. He would stammer out an apology and she would fall, unbidden, into his arms and allow him to comfort her. Then, he would say jump and she would ask how high.

But she was determined to not let that happened this time. She had left Niklaus for a reason. No matter how many threats, apologies, promises or reassurances came her way, she would not compromise the decision she made.

She loved him, but he would make her hate him. And she was determined never to let that happen.

She turned on her heel and walked into the Lockwood Mansion, no longer needing an invite as Carol Lockwood had already invited her inside during one of their interviews. She scoured the area for any sign of Carol but saw her in a harsh conversation with Liz Forbes and Damon. Aliyah pursed her lips and grabbed a glass of wine, throwing back the drink in a second. She concentrated on their conversation, allowing her heightened hearing to stretch out to the three.

"_I want to know exactly who's responsible for killing my husband._" Carol hissed.

Liz sighed. "_I'm looking into it, but you have to be straight. Is there any reason Richard was affected by the vampire device?_" She asked, encouragingly.

Aliyah chewed on her lip. She could answer that one. _Because he was an untriggered werewolf. The device must have tailored to all supernatural creatures in the vicinity, which would include werewolves and vampires. Emily would have had knowledge of them due to her close proximity to one, George Lockwood._

Carol raised an offended eyebrow. "_Are you implying that he was one of them?_" She asked, horrified.

Aliyah wondered what she would think when she found out her son was also an untriggered werewolf.

Damon pushed himself between the two women. "_No, no one's implying that._" He told Carol, reassuringly.

Damon turned around and saw that Aliyah's eyes were fixed on her second wine glass. She gave him a stiff nod to indicate that she was listening in on the conversation.

"_Your deputies screwed up, plain and simple, which makes you responsible._" Carol hissed.

"_Carol…_" Damon trailed off, warningly.

"_Your husband is the one who helped John Gilbert execute his idiot plan in the first place._" Liz snapped.

Aliyah rolled her eyes.

"_Liz…_" Damon hissed, making sure no one was watching the confrontation between the two women.

"_Someone got my husband killed._" Carol spat.

"_We're all on edge here, you've suffered a great loss, the whole town has. We have to stick together okay? Trust each other, we're gonna get through this._" Damon said, reassuringly.

_I have to give it to him, he's not a bad actor._ Aliyah mused.

* * *

><p>Bonnie was still wrapped around Tyler, his much larger one curling against hers as he thanked everyone else who walked up the steps of the porch. His hands were perpetually in her hair and her fingers were still stroking his back, soothingly. It was hard for Bonnie to comprehend that merely a few months ago, Bonnie was adamant to never speak to Tyler ever again.<p>

When Bonnie had learned that Tyler was sleeping with Vicki Donovan, she had found herself so jealous that she had found hot tears forming and her breathing slow. She had attempted to convince herself that her anger was due to the careless way Tyler treated Vicki, up in arms over a fellow teenage girl's haphazard treatment. But, deep in her heart, she knew it was because she had always been Tyler's first priority and the thought of giving that up to _anyone_ else had sent her into a spiralling fury that she had almost brought the house down with her rage. She knew it was petty, but Bonnie hated to be replaced. She supposed it came from her pattern of being left behind by those she loved: her mother and her father. And she was determined to not let Tyler become a part of that list.

But her pride and thought that she'd rather burn in hell than admit that to anyone had prevented her from confiding that reason with Tyler, so she had simply resorted to freezing him out for weeks. In fact, remembrance of those few weeks made her blush in embarrassment; Bonnie wasn't exactly proud of herself for what she had done to herself and Tyler. She knew she had no right to deny Tyler a girlfriend because of some strange claim she had over the boy since they were toddlers.

What had really irked at her was that he was simply buying into the image that the town had of him. Everyone expected him to screw around with the town's trailer trash and Tyler simply acquiesced. It made Bonnie so spitting furious that she ignored him for over a month. She didn't answer his calls, turned him away from her house whenever he knocked, purposely walked the other way when she saw him at school, she wanted to make him hurt as much as she was. Of course, their fight was only settled when Tyler become so angry at her indifference to him that he broke into her house one night.

They screamed at each other for hours and Bonnie remembered thanking God that her father was away on yet another business trip.

"_You know, I keep telling you to bolt the door shut." Tyler shouted, the vein in his neck trembling. "Any creep could just waltz in whenever he pleased."_

"_Any creep did." Bonnie smirked, viciously, crossing her arms over her chest._

_Tyler's face became even more furious, if that were possible. "Who was it? I'll kill him! It was that Aiden kid, right? I saw him looking at-"_

"_I was talking about you, you nutcase!" Bonnie screamed. Tyler's shoulders slumped and his face transformed into an expression of confusion. "You lied to me." She said through clenched teeth, voicing the words that mimed a knife digging into her stomach._

_Tyler frowned and he took a cautious step closer to her, his hands reaching out to pull her into his arms. He always felt content when Bonnie was in his arms._

"_No, Bonnie Rabbit, I'd never lie to you." He said, sincerely._

"_Then, why did you lie to me about Vicki? I asked you if you had a girlfriend and you said no." Bonnie said, mournfully, wrapping her arms around herself._

_Tyler's heart clenched as he watched her do that, as if she were trying to protect herself from him. She never had to protect herself from him. He would never hurt her. But, apparently, he had._

"_Vicki isn't my girlfriend." Tyler said, quietly, resisting the urge to laugh at the concept, knowing that it would make Bonnie even angrier. "She's just…"_

"_What? Sex?" Bonnie asked, furiously. "She's Matt's sister. You can screw around with her like this. She has feelings, Ty. You can't just use a girl for sex." She shot at him._

"_Bonnie, I-" Tyler began to protest._

"_What about me?" Bonnie asked, suddenly. She felt sick to her stomach as she voiced her thoughts. "Was I just sex to you?" She couldn't believe she was bringing up The-Night-That-Never-Happened. _

_Tyler's eyes widened, comically, and he lunged forwards, wrapping his arms around Bonnie's small waist and bringing her into his much larger frame. _

"_What, no! Bonnie, I would never do that to you." He said, fiercely. "You're my Bonnie Rabbit. You're worth so much more than just sex. You're beautiful and kind and funny and smart; you have a wicked sense of humour and you fight for those you love. You're the kind of girl that guys fight to marry." He shook his head. "You're too good for me." He said, mournfully, swallowing hard as he confessed to her his undying fear._

_Bonnie pursed her lips and looked up at him from his chest. She reached up and stroked his cheek. _

"_I know I'm not, sugar." Bonnie said, sweetly._

Tyler and Bonnie's attention was drawn away from the sound of a truck approaching the mansion. Bonnie watched as a handsome man jumped out of the truck and frowned, remembering the man from when she was younger.

Tyler cracked a reluctant smile. "So, the black sheep returns." He called out, stepping forward and taking Bonnie along with him.

The man frowned and searched his eyes for some sort of recognition in the younger man's and his eyes widened as they dawned with realisation.

"Tyler?" He said, astonished.

"Yeah." Tyler nodded, tightening his arm around Bonnie's waist.

The man frowned, looking him over. "What happened to you? In my mind, you were twelve years old."

Tyler raised an eyebrow. "Then, that's two years older than the last time you saw me, Uncle Mason." He said, pointedly.

Bonnie slipped her hand from Tyler's and stepped back as the two men embraced each other. Once Tyler broke away, he stepped back into Bonnie's side and wrapped his arm around Bonnie's waist as if he never left.

"Good to see you again." Mason laughed and his blue eyes fell onto Bonnie, who shifted, nervously, at the attention. His eyes widened almost as if they would pop out of his skull. "No way." He breathed in shock, a smile lighting up his face. "This can't be little Bonnie Bennett." He chuckled, taking her by the hand and spinning her around.

Bonnie giggled and blushed at the attention, running a hand over her warm cheek.

Mason shot Tyler a teasing look. "Although, from what I remember, it's more like you were _his_ Bonnie Bennett." He smirked.

Both Bonnie and Tyler flushed and Tyler stepped forward, separating Mason and Bonnie and placing Bonnie at his side once again.

"Okay, okay," Tyler muttered, ignoring the redness in his cheeks. "Break it up, you two."

"Let me guess, the two of you are dating?" Mason stared at Tyler and Bonnie with unfathomable eyes.

Both of their eyes widened and they shook their heads, frantically.

"No!" Tyler protested, but his vehement rejection of the suggestion was tempered by his inability to keep his hands off Bonnie – girlfriend or not.

"No, we're really not." Bonnie reassured, patting Tyler's hand, which was curled around her hip. "We're just friends."

Mason nodded, a wicked glint in his eyes. "I'm sure." He said, knowingly.

Bonnie rubbed the back of her neck, awkwardly. "I'll be inside. I should really find Aliyah." She leaned on her toes and kissed Tyler, gently, on the cheek. She placed a hand on his shoulder and dragged it down his arm. "See you soon, Stray."

* * *

><p>Bonnie finally found Aliyah, who was standing off to the side on her own. Aliyah nodded at her and beckoned her with one crooked finger. Bonnie slid closer to her and joined her in leaning against the wall.<p>

"So, how's your Tyler?" Aliyah asked, smirking.

"He's not my _anything_. Why do people keep thinking we're dating?" Bonnie said, hotly.

"Because, darling, the two of you can't keep your hands off each other." Aliyah shrugged. "That's a sure-fire sign that two people are more than just friends." She said, pointedly.

Bonnie groaned and her head sank onto Aliyah's shoulder. "What am I going to do?" She moaned.

"About Tyler?" Aliyah raised an eyebrow. "I'd recommend you shag him on the nearest flat surface, but if a wall works for you…" She shrugged.

Bonnie stared at her. "You are such a great role model." She said, sarcastically.

Aliyah grinned. "I'm really good at the sex stuff if you wanna talk." She offered. "In fact, I probably have a copy of the Kama Sutra lying around the apartment if you wanted to take a look."

Bonnie couldn't help but smile and she chewed on her lip. "I'll keep that in mind." She said, playfully.

"So, how did it go with Tyler?" Aliyah asked, curiously.

Bonnie shrugged. "He didn't really get along with his dad. I think he's just trying to come to terms with all of those feelings. He'll talk to me when he's ready." She said, confidently. "His uncle came back."

Aliyah raised an eyebrow. "Uncle?" She frowned, wondering whether this was another werewolf.

"Yeah, Mason Lockwood." Bonnie nodded. "He left Mystic Falls ages ago. He's a surfer." She paused and leaned in. "I don't think he's a threat." She said, reassuringly, placing a warm hand on Aliyah's arm.

Aliyah sighed. "When you're as old as I am, Bonnie girl, everyone's a threat." She said, grimly.

"Well, if it isn't my favourite people in the world." A certain annoying voice drawled as Damon approached the two. "Witchy and Bitchy." He smirked at his own cleverness.

"Congratulations, you can rhyme." Aliyah said, sarcastically, crossing her arms over her chest.

Damon turned his attention to Bonnie. "You know, Bonnie, I would love to know why Mayor Lockwood, a non-vampire, was tortured by the vampire torture device that you let John Gilbert use against us. Not to mention, the puppy dog that follows you around everywhere." Aliyah resisted the urge to smile at how on point Damon's comment had been. "Speaking of your guilt, how is Caroline?"

Bonnie gritted her teeth, her eyes flashing at the idea of Damon hurting Tyler. She would tear him apart before he could lay a hand on her Tyler. "Much better." She smiled a beatific smile that Aliyah had taught her to use when she was the most angry. She told her that it threw people off. "And I have no guilt. You should be thanking me."

"Why is that, exactly?" Damon asked, cockily.

Bonnie's full lips curled into an irresistible smile. "You get to live another day." She purred, feeling her magic draw her around her, her skin sizzling with the feeling.

Damon shook his head, mournfully. "No good deal goes unpunished with you, does it?"

Bonnie growled low in her throat. "Doesn't undo the bad. I know what you are, Damon," She hissed, remembering the way Damon had used Caroline. "You might have Elena and the Sheriff and everybody else fooled, but not me." She spat. "One wrong move and I'm gonna take you out." She said, coldly.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Now, you need to stop with the witches' brood. You're starting to believe your own press." He joked.

Aliyah watched with amusement and pride as Bonnie simply stared at Damon, looking him in the eyes. She could feel the magic rise in the air around her and she watched as Damon clutched at his head, squeezing his eyes in pain. She swallowed hard, feeling the power radiating from Bonnie, an intoxicating feeling that made her lick her lips. She was prouder than she had ever been before.

Aliyah placed her hand on Bonnie's shoulder, soothingly. "Okay, Bonnie girl, pull back." She ordered, gently.

Bonnie breathed in and out, a smile forming on her face as she drew her magic away from Damon. "I'm sorry, you were saying?" She asked, mockingly. She shook her head and looked at Aliyah. "I need some air. I'll be right back." She said, flatly.

Bonnie stormed out of the mansion and walked outside, hoping to find Tyler so that she could bury her face in his neck and forget all of her troubles for a little while. Instead, she saw Elena standing out on the porch, looking out onto the garden. She bit her lip and ignored her lingering resentment against her best friend and walked up to her, needing someone to bitch at who was human.

"Oh, my god! Damon drives me crazy. How can you actually like the creep? He's walking around like he's some kind of hero for helping out with the tomb vampires, when it's his fault all of this happened in the first place." Bonnie spat, her anger against the blue-eyed vampire – and against Elena, if she were being honest – only growing.

Elena looked at her with sad eyes. "I'm sorry Bonnie. What Damon's done is just awful." She said, despondently.

Bonnie breathed in and allowed her anger to fade away, being able to look at Elena and not feel tinges of red attack her vision. "Okay, better." She smiled, softly. "Hateful Damon moment over." She shook her head.

Bonnie couldn't help it and placed her hand on Elena's arm.

She stilled.

Bonnie dug her teeth into her lip, feeling the skin split under her ministration, to prevent herself from flinching away. She felt the cold feeling of death wash through her veins like icy water and she felt sick to her stomach just being in the woman's presence.

_Katherine._

_I need Aliyah._

Bonnie swallowed hard. "I… I have to find Tyler. See if he needs something. I'll be back." She said, hoarsely, smiling so that Katherine didn't realise that she was onto her.

She turned on her heel and stalked back into the mansion, walking into a small room and pulling her phone. She dialled Elena's number and waited for the call to go through.

"Hello?" Elena's voice came over the phone.

Bonnie licked her lips. "Elena? Where are you?" She asked, carefully.

"Bonnie, I know I'm late. I'm getting in the car now. I'll be here in five." Elena said, quickly, and hung up the phone.

Bonnie shook her head and turned around, gasping in shock when she saw Katherine standing right behind her.

Katherine smiled at her, wearing her best friend's face. "We haven't officially met, I'm Katherine." She said, sweetly.

Bonnie gritted her teeth. She remembered what Aliyah had taught her.

_Keep your head on you at all time. Never show emotion to your enemies. It displays your vulnerability and you need to remain invincible in their eyes. Wait for the moment where they least expect it and then strike them down._

"I know who you are." She said, coldly.

Katherine smiled, mockingly. "Of course you do. You're the best friend, right?" She waggled her eyebrows. "I've been putting all the pieces of Elena's life together. Isobel told me it was a bit of a puzzle. I do know who Jenna and Jeremy are and I met that delicious ex-boyfriend Matt," She smirked. "He's sweet on Caroline, and then there's you, the vampire-hating Bennett witch. Did I do good?" She asked, innocently.

Bonnie swallowed hard and made to run out of the room but Katherine was in front of her in a flash. Bonnie clenched her teeth and focused her gaze on her, throwing her magic at the woman until she went down screaming. But what shocked her was Katherine's ability to feign the aneurism and stand up after a few moments, undisturbed.

Katherine smirked. "I've been around a long time, Bonnie; you have to do better than that." She said, sweetly.

She wrapped a slender hand around Bonnie's neck and slammed her against the wall, the picture frames shaking from the pressure. Her face changed, her fangs descending and her eyes filling with blood, the veins under her eyes bulging. She was just about to sink her fangs into Bonnie's slender throat when Katherine heard a vicious snarl that chilled her to the very core. She suddenly felt herself being grabbed by the shoulder, twisted around and pinned against the wall, herself, by a grip she just couldn't get out of. Her face transformed into an expression of absolute, blood chilling fear when she saw a furious and pleased Aliyah looking at her.

"_Zdravei_, Katerina." She purred, her accent flaring, baring her blinding white teeth at the younger vampire. She tightened the grip around Katherine's throat, relishing in the choked, pained gasp that it drew from her. "I hoped you would be stupid enough to attack Bonnie. Now, I actually have a legitimate reason to tear your heart out of your chest." She purred.

Aliyah's eyes turned to Bonnie, who pushed herself off the wall, clutching at her throat.

"Alright there, Bonnie?" Aliyah asked, gently.

Bonnie nodded, looking at Katherine with a degree of nervousness.

"If you kill me, Klaus will be mad at you." Katherine wheezed, her hands tugging at Aliyah's wrist, desperately trying to free herself, her legs kicking out.

Aliyah laughed, harshly, feeling her eyes darken and the veins emerge. "What my husband doesn't know will not hurt him." She purred. "He will rejoice in my killing you after all of these years and welcome me back as his beloved wife. And your death will be as insignificant to him as it was five hundred years ago." She snarled.

"Why go to all that trouble if you were just going to kill me?" Katherine hissed out.

"Because I enjoyed watching you run for your life." Aliyah shrugged. She leaned in, feeling her fangs descend. She leaned down and let her teeth scrape across the sensitive skin of Katherine's jugular. She dug in, slightly, letting the taste of Katherine's blood fall onto her tongue, licking her lips as she drew back. Katherine hissed in pain and stared at her with the utmost fear. "If you _ever_ threaten or attempt to harm Bonnie ever again, it will be the last moment of your meaningless long life, Katerina. Remember, your life is my charity. Do you understand me?" She asked, sweetly.

Katherine gritted her teeth and refused to answer her out of stubborn pride.

"I said, _do you understand me_?" Aliyah demanded, tightening her grip and shoving her against the wall, firmly.

"Yes." Katherine growled.

Aliyah smiled and let Katherine fall to the floor, gasping and clutching her throat, as the newly sliced skin healed itself. She suddenly broke off a leg from one of the tables in the room and slammed one of the ends into Katherine's stomach, the end of the makeshift stake going through the wall. Katherine bit back a scream of pain and struggled against the way the stake pinned her against the wall. Aliyah walked over and touched Bonnie's throat.

"Just a little bruising." Aliyah mused. "Should go away in a little while." She told Bonnie, reassuringly. "You okay, or do I really need to kill her?"

"I'm fine, but if you wanted to go and kill her anyway, I wouldn't stop you." Bonnie said, weakly, smiling.

Aliyah laughed and wrapped her arms around Bonnie, pressing a warm and affectionate kiss to the top of Bonnie's head. "That's my Bonnie girl." She said, sweetly.

"Oh, um, you have a little…" Bonnie gestured to Aliyah's mouth, which was stained with remnants of Katherine's blood.

"Oh, right." Aliyah shook her head and ran her tongue over her lips, licking away the last of Katherine's blood and resisting the urge to moan at the taste.

Katherine growled and wrenched the stake from her stomach, gritting her teeth against the pain.

"Katherine." Stefan called out, appearing in the doorway to the room.

Katherine smiled. "Stefan." She said, slowly, her eyes running up and down his form as if she were dehydrated and he were an oasis in the middle of a desert.

"Leave them alone." Stefan said, firmly.

Katherine shrugged. "Okay."

Katherine walked past them and to Stefan, running a hand down his arm, seductively, as she passed, flashing out of the room, Stefan following her.

Bonnie swallowed hard and looked at Aliyah, helplessly. "My magic didn't work on her." She said, desperately.

Aliyah placed both of her hands on Bonnie's shoulders. "Bonnie, we will fix this." She said, firmly. "I will not let Katherine hurt you. I give you my word." She said, earnestly.

Bonnie nodded, emphatically, feeling tears come to her eyes. "I think… I think I'm gonna find Tyler." She bit her lip, really needing Tyler's arms around her at that moment. "Are you gonna be okay?"

"I think I will go and check everything is okay with Katherine and I want to pop in on Jenna as well. See how she is." Aliyah said, blithely. "Call me if something happens." She said, sternly. "I don't think Katherine will attack you now that she knows you're under my protection. It would just be a reason to end her miserable life here and now." She growled.

Bonnie nodded and threw her arms around Aliyah, desperately needing comfort after being so closely attacked by a vicious vampire. Aliyah tightened her grip on Bonnie and stroked a hand down her back, soothing her. Bonnie burrowed into her embrace and revelled in the comfort that radiated from Aliyah, thanking whatever higher being had sent the older vampire to her. The fact that Aliyah was a vampire was slowly becoming a non-existent issue for her. Aliyah was her family, now. She sniffled and broke away, placing a hand on Aliyah's arm before leaving.

She wandered through the crowded halls of the Lockwood Mansion before she saw Tyler sitting in a room, nursing a flask that Bonnie was sure had been his father's. She bit her lip and walked into the room, closing the door behind her. Tyler jerked at the sound of the door closing and he turned around to see her approaching him, a smile forming on his face. Bonnie didn't smile, however. She was just a bit too drawn to return it. She slipped off her flats and sank down onto his lap, feeling his arms come around her. She leaned her head on his shoulder, feeling his hands stroke her hair.

"Hey, Bonnie Rabbit," He said, quietly, kissing her temple. "You okay?"

Bonnie shook her head and buried her face into the crook of his neck, feeling the tears slip down her cheek and fall onto his skin.

* * *

><p>Just as Aliyah was leaving the mansion, she ran into Jenna, who was standing on her own.<p>

"A bit late to the party, aren't you?" Aliyah grinned at Jenna, handing her a glass of wine and taking one for herself.

"Oh, shut it." Jenna grumbled, taking a long swig of the wine.

"Did you pay your respects?" She asked, curiously.

"Yeah, I did. And it was totally awkward." Jenna shrugged as they looked out onto the garden from the porch. "Did you?"

"Ages ago." Aliyah said, sipping at her wine. "Bonnie's with Tyler right now."

Jenna cracked a smile. "You wanna bet how long it's gonna take for those two to get their act together." She waggled her eyebrows.

Aliyah laughed. "Oh, I have a feeling it'll be real soon." She ran her hand through her hair. "Have you been to see John?"

Jenna frowned. "How do you know John?" She asked, curiously.

"We met at that Kick-Off Party. I heard about his accident." Aliyah explained, quickly.

"Oh, yeah, I have." Jenna rolled her eyes. "Even missing four of his fingers and a gaping stab wound in his gut, he's still a jackass."

Aliyah laughed. "Yeah, I got that about him. So, why the hatred?" She asked, waggling her eyebrows.

Jenna sighed. "In the interest of full disclosure, we used to sleep together and it kinda ended badly."

"Ah. That makes sense. So, it's sexual tension, then?" She winked. Jenna punched her in the arm. "Right, I guess not, then."

"I am _never_ making that mistake again." Jenna gagged.

"How was he?" Aliyah asked, interestedly. Jenna raised an eyebrow. "Oh, please, I haven't had sex in ages. The price of being faithful to my non-existent husband." She rolled her eyes. "I have to live vicariously through you." She smirked.

"He's… to be honest, he was kind of selfish." Jenna admitted, blushing.

"And Alaric?" Aliyah raised an eyebrow, biting her lower lip as a smile formed on her face.

The blush remained on Jenna's face and she rubbed the back of her neck, brushing her hair away from her face. "Okay, he's _very_ good with his tongue." She said, reluctantly but smugly.

Aliyah started laughed, making sure no one could hear them. "Good for you, darling." She patted Jenna on the shoulder.

"What about you?" Jenna asked, her eyes flashing, wickedly. "Mason Lockwood came back and he's pretty cute. We used to go to high school together. I could set you up." She suggested.

Aliyah chuckled. "Thanks for the thought, but I just found out that my husband might be joining me here in Mystic Falls."

Jenna's eyes widened. "Oh, wow, really? I finally get to meet the infamous husband of Aliyah Bennett?"

Aliyah's face tightened but a smile remained on her face. "Yep." She grinned.

Jenna's eyes searched her face. "You okay with that? I mean, do you want him to come?"

Aliyah sighed and leaned against a pillar. "I don't know." She confessed, grateful for the chance to talk to someone who had no idea about vampires or werewolves or witches. Right now, she felt just like an ordinary woman who had problems with her husband. "Mind you, I miss him plenty. But, I'm afraid that he's changed and I've changed and we just won't work together anymore." She said, tucking a stray curl behind her ear.

Jenna laid a hand on her arm and stared at her with sympathetic eyes. "If it's meant to be, it'll be."

Aliyah cracked a smile. She swirled the wine that was still in her glass. "All I can do is hope for the best." She sighed.

"You heading home yet?" Jenna asked, curiously.

"Actually," Aliyah's eyes widened. "I should be getting home. I'm actually moving tonight."

Jenna frowned. "Wait, what? You're leaving and you weren't going to tell me." She sounded hurt.

"Jenna, darling, I'm only moving houses. I don't plan on leaving Mystic Falls for a little while." She said, reassuringly. "In fact, I'll text you my new address. The removalists are coming tonight to pack up my apartment. I should probably be there for that."

"Where are you moving to?" Jenna asked.

"I had this old place in the woods renovated. It's like a secret hideaway. More of my thing than an apartment or a house in the suburbs." She shrugged.

"How very hermit of you." Jenna said, playfully.

Aliyah groaned. "Don't start with me." She said, warningly. "I should probably go and find Bonnie."

* * *

><p>Aliyah walked through the Lockwood's land, hearing Katherine's and Stefan's voice in the distance.<p>

"_You want to know why I'm here, Stefan? I came back for you._" Katherine said, earnestly.

Aliyah rolled her eyes. _Now, that's an absolute lie._

"Well, the problem, Katherine, is that I hate you." Stefan said, coldly.

_She is not going to like that._

Aliyah watched as Katherine grabbed an iron crowbar, as quickly as lightning, and stabbed Stefan in the stomach with it. Stefan doubled over and a cry of pain left his mouth.

"You hate me, huh?" Katherine spat. "That sounds like the beginning of a love story, Stefan, not the end of one." She snarled and ran away.

Aliyah clucked her tongue and stalked forwards. She grabbed onto the end of the crowbar that was sticking out of Stefan and she yanked, hard, pulling it out of him with one harsh swoop. Stefan groaned and sank to the ground and Aliyah threw the crowbar somewhere into the trees. Elena ran up to them.

"Stefan!" She cried out and grabbed him by the waist, helping him onto the bench.

"You're welcome." Aliyah said, sarcastically, throwing her hands up in the air.

Elena lifted up Stefan's shirt and gasped when saw the bloody wound that marked his well-defined stomach.

"You're gonna be okay?" She asked, worriedly.

"Yeah, it will heal." Stefan said, reassuringly.

Elena shook her head. "That's not what I meant." She said, pointedly, wondering if Katherine would be able to get inside his head.

"You're absolutely mental." Aliyah snapped. "Why the hell were you trying to provoke a murderous bitch from hell?"

Stefan grit his teeth against the pain in his stomach. " I was trying to figure her out. I was playing along and let her get to me." He explained, weakly.

Aliyah sighed. "Of course, you did." She shook her head.

Damon walked up to them. "I tried to track her but she's gone."

"That's because you're pathetic at anything that doesn't involve you tearing into the throat of some poor sorority girl." Aliyah rolled her eyes. "She's probably left Mystic Falls by now. Don't worry, I'm sure the psycho-bitch has every intention of making a reappearance."

Damon glared at her and looked over at Stefan, whose shirt had ridden up, exposing his wound. "Ouch, cover up, Fabio. You have a crazy ex on the loose." He looked at Elena, mockingly. "You better watch out, looks like Katherine is trying to steal your guy." He smirked.

Stefan shook his head. "That's not what's happening." He protested.

Damon raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it? I mean, it's only fair since I went after your girl." He pointed out.

Elena looked distinctly uncomfortable by the direction the conversation had taken. "I'm gonna go check on Jenna and Jeremy. Let me know when you guys are done." She said, before walking away.

"So what's gonna be uh? Fight to the death? Go ahead, make your threat, stake your claim." Damon mocked.

Stefan shook his head. "I'm not gonna fight you." He said, calmly.

Damon frowned. "Why? I'd fight me." He shrugged.

"Katherine is gonna try to play us against each other, you do know that, right?" Stefan crossed his arms over his chest and stared at him, steely.

"Brother, don't you worry, our bond is unbreakable." Damon said, sarcastically.

"We need to stay united against her. So, yes, as much as I would like to kill you, I'm not gonna fight you." Stefan said.

"I kissed Elena." Damon pointed out.

Stefan looked at him, knowingly. "Because you feel something for her, because you actually care, and I'm not gonna let Katherine come here and destroy that part of you that is finally, after all of this time, willing to feel something. She will try to break you, she will try to break us and how we respond to that will define us. It's our choice. So, no, I'm not gonna fight you."

He stared at Damon and then left him alone.

* * *

><p>That night, Bonnie rubbed her eyes, sitting up in her brand-new, king-sized bed, hearing knocking on the door. She threw the covers off of her and slipped off the bed, her eyes adjusting to the scenery that the massive glass windows provided. It had been an exhausting evening and night after the removalists had come and picked everything up from the apartment, shifting it over to the house in the woods. It had taken them hours to unpack all of the boxes; thankfully, Bonnie had only brought the barest of essentials from her dad's house. Then, both her and Aliyah had retired for the evening, Bonnie sinking into her bed and falling asleep, instantly.<p>

Then, someone had knocked on the door and she had awoken instantly. She walked out of her room and down the stairs until she reached the lit up lounge and family rooms. She shuddered, the chilliness of the air getting to her bare skin under dark pink tank top and white shorts.

Bonnie peeked through the glass, seeing a familiar, downtrodden figure standing outside, his back hunched over. She frowned, worriedly, and unlocked the bolts on the door, turning the handle down.

"Sugar. What are you doing here? It's three in the morning." Bonnie asked, worriedly. She reached out her arms and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, bringing him inside.

"I'm sorry for coming here so let, Bon." Tyler's teeth chattered from the chill outside. "I just… I just really needed to see you." He murmured.

Bonnie swallowed hard, her heart aching when she saw him so browbeaten and defeated. She pulled him inside the house, shutting the door and chill behind her, turning up the thermostat. She wrapped her arms around him, sliding her hand down his muscled back. Tyler sank, willingly, into her embrace, nuzzling into her shoulder and pressing a kiss to the crook of her neck.

Bonnie tugged Tyler in the direction of her room, pulling him the staircase. They tiptoed past Aliyah's door and Bonnie shut the door of her room, quietly, wondering why Aliyah hadn't woken up at the sound of the knocking. She pressed Tyler against the bed and slid his jacket off, allowing him to wrap himself in her covers.

"What's wrong, Ty?" Bonnie asked, quietly, coming to slide into the bed beside him.

"I think something's happening to me, Bonnie Rabbit." Tyler's voice was tight and worried, as if he were barely managing to hang onto his control.

Bonnie bit her lip and stroked a hand down his face, shuffling closer to his warmth, feeling his arms come around her. She threw one of her legs over his hip and pressed her hand against his chest.

"What do you mean, sugar?" She asked, gently.

"I'm just so angry _all the fucking time_." Tyler bit out. "Tonight, I was in my dad's office and I just started _breaking everything_. My mom came in and I just flipped out, I couldn't stop it. If Mason hadn't been there, I don't know what I would have done." He shuddered.

Bonnie leaned down and kissed his shoulder, snuggling up to him, convincing herself that she was just his friend giving him comfort when he needed it.

"Help me." Tyler said, quietly, looking down at her with his dark brown eyes.

"Stray, you don't have to ask." Bonnie said, firmly, wrapping her arms around him as best she could.

"I don't want to hurt _you_. I don't want to become my dad." Tyler's voice broke and his eyes widened in horror at the idea.

"So, it won't." Bonnie murmured into his skin. "Everything's going to be okay, sugar."

And it would. Because he was her Stray and she was his Bonnie Rabbit and they would never let anything happen to each other.

* * *

><p>In her room, Aliyah lay in her bed, staring at the minute light in the room, provided by the moon outside. She wrapped a sheet around her form, clad in a white, spaghetti-strap top, navy-blue vest and navy-blue shorts, and stepped out onto the balcony that led out of her room. She wasn't an idiot; she knew that Bonnie and Tyler Lockwood were canoodling in her bed. She wasn't worried; she knew that Bonnie was old enough and wise enough to make her own decisions and she wasn't trying to be a traditional mother. More of a big sister.<p>

She looked down at the phone clutched in her hands. It was the phone that only Bonnie and Caroline in Mystic Falls, and a few other vampire and witch friends around the world had her number to. Elijah was the only one from her family who had this number. Not Niklaus. But the number from which the text message had come from was unknown and not one she would recognise as Elijah's. With shaking hands, she pressed the button that would open it.

_My dearest Aliyah, _

_I apologise, hellcat. I understand that my letter may have caused you to worry. It has, of course, been over thirty years since we have seen or spoken in any shape of form to each other. I cannot tell you where or when our paths will cross again, Liya, but they will and I prophesise that it will be very soon. You should know that I plan on making my presence in Mystic Falls very soon and I can promise you that you will be the first to see me. If you decide to take your little witch and run for the hills, I will follow you to the ends of the world and I will drag you back._

_Until next time, I bid you farewell, my love. _

_Sweet dreams. _

_Forever yours,_

_Niklaus_

Aliyah swallowed hard and looked up at the sky.

_Oh, Niklaus, what will you do to me when you arrive in Mystic Falls? Will you simply dagger me or do you have some other creative torture planned for your wayward bride?_

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN**_: I hope you all liked this really long chapter. I think it's the longest chapter I've ever written and I hope you guys enjoyed it. There were a lot of Tonnie moments in this chapter and I really love their relationship together. They're so sweet. And I love that whole werewolf-mate concept, so I tried my own rendition of it. Neither of them know what's going on, neither of them want to believe it, but they can't keep their hands off each other. I hope you guys liked the flashbacks and the second last scene and the scene between Tyler and Bonnie at his father's memorial. I like writing their backstory a lot.

And I changed a lot of things in this chapter. Caroline did not have Damon's blood in her when she turned, she had Aliyah's. I wonder how this will change Season 2 onwards and how it will change their relationship together. Caroline didn't have much of an appearance in this chapter except for Aliyah feeding Caroline her blood and the scene with Matt and Bonnie and Aliyah. But, never fear, Caroline will make a much bigger appearance in the next few chapters. Someone has to help Caroline adjust to becoming a vampire.

Aliyah threatened John and Elena, a lot in this chapter. She really doesn't like Elena. And I still really haven't fixed Bonnie's and Elena's relationship yet. They're going to be rocky for awhile, so it can be believable when they start to separate.

And Aliyah got a chance to threaten Katherine. Their relationship will be expanded upon in the middle of Season 2, because Aliyah was quite active during 1492 and she did something that she wants Katherine to keep quiet about.

There was even some Aliyah and Jenna bonding in this chapter, because I feel like Aliyah needs a friend in Mystic Falls that has no idea about vampires and is her own age.

I kind of wanted an all-out confrontation between Katherine and Aliyah in this chapter but I thought it became a bit a long for my tastes. But they will be having a proper confrontation where they hash out a couple of things that happened in the past.

And we got some Aliklaus/Nikliyah moments in this chapter. We had that flashback of Niklaus attacking Mikael and getting stabbed in the shoulder and Aliyah healing him with her magic. And we also got a text message from present day Klaus. Now he has her number. I wonder what will happen now.

Anyway, hope you all liked this chapter and don't forget to review!


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